Miss Bee's Books

Owen Birnbaum is 57 percent fatter than the national average for boys his age. Owen Birnbaum is one point short of being a genius. Owen Birnbaum has a sister named Jeremy. Owen Birnbaum is a bully magnet. In SLOB, Ellen Potter tells Owen's story through his brilliant, cynical point of view. Hilarious, yet somewhat sad, twelve-year-old Owen begins his story on a day only slightly less bearable than every other day. When he goes to his recycled-sock lunch box and pulls out his eco -friendly Oreo cookie container, however, his day gets a whole lot worse. The Oreos are gone! Now this may not seem like a big deal to you, its just three dumb cookies. But for Owen its devastating. In a world of bullies, gym teachers, and psychopath new-kids with a burned face and a switchblade in their sock, sometimes eating three dumb cookies is all a kid can do to keep it together. He has to find out who took them. As we follow Owen on this quest to find the thief, however, we find out...

In his 1989 Newberry Medal winning anthology, Joyful Noise , Paul Fleischman weaves together a series of insect-themed poems. Each of these poems is written with two voices in mind, often creating a cacophony of vocals, not unlike the sound of insects buzzing. This work is often labeled as the companion piece to his 1985 work, I am Phoenix, an anthology of two-voice poems inspired by a day in the life of birds. The styles and execution of the two-voices vary from poem to poem. While some poems have a steady meter and rhyme scheme, others are written in free verse. In some poems the two voices are used to represent two different characters, as in "Honeybees" where the two perspectives of Worker and Queen Bee are juxtaposed or "Book Lice" where two book lice share their romantic "opposites attract" tale. In other poems like "Whirligig Beetles", "Cicadas", and "House Crickets" the two voices are made to mimic the sound of ...

One of the most honored children's writers in America, Virginia Hamilton brings us an amazing, well-researched collection of animal folk tales from African American, West Indian, and African tradition. This collection is broken up into three sections based on their place of origin; each section begins with a brief background on the stories, characters, and dialects used in the section. At the end of the collection are further explanations of each individual story. Hamilton discusses everything from the origins of the characters and their metaphorical meaning to the purpose of the story to excerpts of the story in their original dialect. This collection of animal folk tales can be further broken down into 3 main subgenres. While (as the title indicates) all of the stories are trickster tales, in which the main character plays tricks on those in power, this collection also includes a number of pourquoi tales and some beast tales. A pourquoi tale is one that explains how certa...

A piece of debris, a barnacle-covered underwater camera, washes up on shore and opens up a whole new world. In David Wiesner's Caldecott Medal winning book, Flotsam, a normal day at the beach turns into a discovery of a lifetime. In this brilliant work, Wiesner creates an incredible underwater world depicted solely through rich watercolor illustration. This book is a feast for the imagination, the breathtaking visuals transport us to another undersea world, presenting us with images that only lead to more questions. Every time we turn the page there is more to discover and because there are no words, more to explore. This work is fantastic inspiration for writers, each picture on the camera can lead to limitless narratives about the worlds Wiesner created. Not only can this work lead us to explore Wiesner's illustrations, but it can also inspire us to think outside of the box for ourselves. Can we imagine our own new worlds? Or think of other kooky explanations for the...

Stewart has a problem! An obnoxious little molar in the back of his mouth that nags, whines, and demands.... SWEETS. It just won't leave him alone! Stewart would love to be an average, everyday, good kid, but that darn tooth! It makes him destroy his cousin's wedding cake, shout out in class for peanut butter cups, and steal other kids' gummy bears at the movies. Poor Stewart! When that pesky tooth interrupts the story to demand that Stewart eat a bag of cookies Stewart has had enough and decides to cut him off cold turkey. It's an epic battle between tooth and boy in this wonderfully illustrated book by Margie Palatini and Jack E. Davis. This book is just plain fun, and so easy to relate to! Who hasn't had a craving they just can't quench? Or munched down on one too many chocolate candies? And of course it has the wonderful messages about eating right and controlling our diets. Davis' tragically comic illustrations are not confined to the side of the pa...

When talented young artist Pigasso and Mootisse get tired of the hustle and bustle of city life and adoring fans they move out of town to find someplace to paint in peace. Even though they have never met before, Pigasso buys a house in the country right across from Mootisse , and Mootisse buys a house right across from Pigasso . At first the two are great friends, exchanging art and paying visits. Unfortunately, a rivalry soon erupts as Pigasso insults Mootisse's paintings and as Mootisse makes fun of Pigasso's . Despite their differing styles, however, the two artists quickly learn they cannot live without their new found friendship and work together to create an "amazing work of heart". When Pigasso met Mootisse closely mirrors the friendship, rivalry, and subsequent friendship of real-life artists Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. As Nina Laden points out in her informative afterward, Spanish Picasso met Matisse at a party after moving to Paris in the...

Shark has just learned some terrible news! There are enormous, fearsome creatures prowling around that are covered in stripes and full of teeth: TIGERS! With a little help from Lobster's erroneous suggestions that tigers glow in the dark and are invisible until they eat you, the two friends manage to work the whole sea floor into a fort-building frenzy. Seven hundred rocks, a musical number, and a kooky sea monster later Shark and Lobster have had the most exciting (and terrifying) day of their lives. This hilarious book, Shark and Lobster's Amazing Undersea Adventure by Viviane Schwarz and colored by Joel Stewart is illustrate d like a comic book . First person word bubbles and cartoony water-color style give this book a casual, light-hearted air that is hard not to love. Aside from being incredibly fun, this book gives way to a wealth of activities; from finding out the truth about tigers (do they really glow in the dark? Are there any animals that do?) to creating o...