Horsefly and Honeybee

Publishers Weekly

Horsefly and Honeybee meet inauspiciously, when the petite yellow bee invades an orange daylily occupied by the larger fly. "They had a fight. It wasn't pretty. Horsefly lost a wing. Honeybee lost a wing, too." They march off in opposite directions, only to be captured by a bullfrog. (He catches insects with his fingers rather than his tongue, thus prolonging the suspense.) The rivals squat miserably on a lily pad while the frog collects more food, but soon discover that their survival depends upon cooperation. Cecil (Brontorina) creates striking oil-on-paper images; his cartoonish characters escape the leathery green lily pad, with its fuchsia and violet blooms, for crystalline blue skies and a shared home in an orange flower bud. He concludes with an epilogue from Luciano De Crescenzo: "We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another." While the fate of real-life insects dismembered in such a way would be decidedly less rosy, the charm with which the book's message is delivered should keep readers from dwelling on such unpleasantness. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

"...a great read-aloud that children and their adults will love.”--School Library Journal, starred

"With a saturated, brightly colored palette, Cecil creates quirky characters who deliver a clear message.”—New York Times Book Review

"Cecil (Brontorina) creates striking oil-on-paper images; his cartoonish characters escape the leathery green lily pad, with its fuchsia and violet blooms, for crystalline blue skies and a shared home in an orange flower bud.”—Publishers Weekly Praise for Randy Cecil’s illustrations: Big Day on the River:
“Cecil’s illustrations capture the comedy and down-home charm of this tale and its lovable characters. A pitch-perfect picture book.” —School Library Journal, starred review The Singing Chick:
“Cecil’s illustrations sparkle with humor.” —Kirkus Reviews  Little Red Cowboy Hat:
“This Wild West fairy tale makes other versions look limp by comparison.” —Kirkus Reviews, pointer review “Cecil’s colors reflect deep western sunset shades.” —School Library Journal, starred review An American Bookseller Pick of the Lists

Children's Literature - Mary Hynes-Berry

When Horsefly and Honeybee meet as each settles into the same flower, they fight—and each loses a wing; each mutters "drat" and tries to reach home unable to fly; however both are scooped up by bullfrog who deposits them on a leaf and then goes off to add to his insect lunch. The two indulge in a few more "drats" and pouts but as they hear bullfrog returning, they realize their only hope is to work together. They link legs and each uses the single wing they have left to fly out of reach. And of, course, now they are quite happy to share the same flower home. The language is simple and playful as are the colorful illustrations; the insects' faces are wonderfully expressive. Cecil creates the sense of how large the world around an insect is as he keeps his two characters very small, especially in contrast to the big green bullfrog. This would be a wonderful book to launch a discussion of the importance of recognizing mutual interdependence, for humans as well as insects.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1—When two sleepy bugs, looking for a comfortable napping spot, confront each other inside a daylily, they have an altercation. Unfortunately, they each lose a wing during their squabble and have to resort to using their feet for traveling. The two meet up once again when they're both snatched by a bullfrog and set aside for his dinner. Fortunately, just at the moment the frog is ready to eat them, the two insects clutch onto each other and work together to make their escape. The mostly grass-green and pond- and sky-blue illustrations vary from full spreads to small vignettes and deftly depict the characters' humorous facial expressions. The googly-eyed creatures and their utterance of "Drat!" at just the right moment create a very funny story and a great read-aloud that children and their adults will love.—Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

Anita Silvey

With a saturated, brightly colored palette, Cecil creates quirky characters who deliver a clear message…
—The New York Times Book Review