Little Bea and the Snowy Day

Publishers Weekly

The last time readers saw Little Bea, the sun was shining. Now, bundled in a pink hat and scarf, Bea joins Rabbit, Bear, Beaver, Owl, Deer, and Goose to play in the snow. They make snow angels, catch snowflakes, sled down a hill, ice skate, and drink hot chocolate. The animals’ brightly colored winter wear and quirky expressions pop against the white backgrounds; a bee has never been more at home in the snow. Ages 2–5. (Jan.)

Children's Literature - Mary Hynes-Berry

Roode's computer graphic character, a bright eyed honeybee named Bea, is having a second adventure with her woodland friends, Bear, Rabbit, Beaver, Owl, and Goose—all of whom have graphic, rounded features and big black eyes. The fairly spare text uses a nice array of robust vocabulary words such as "Crunch," "Stomp" and "Skedaddle" and builds in some rhythm and rhyme such as "Tickle. Tingle. Chilly. Fun. Let's catch snowflakes one by one." In effect, this book offers some of the fun for the tongue language that builds phonemic awareness. The storyline is quite loose making it suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. Young children are also likely to relate to the simply drawn wide-eyed characters that end their fun in the snow by creating a new friend, a snow bear. They are also unlikely to be confused or concerned that in nature baby ducks and honeybees would find snowy day deadly rather than fun. Reviewer: Mary Hynes-Berry

School Library Journal

PreS—Dressed in seasonal gear, the little bumble bee and her animal friends enjoy playing hide-and-seek outside, making snow angels, catching snowflakes, sledding, throwing snowballs, and ice-skating. The story concludes with the pals warming up with cups of hot chocolate and building a new snow friend. The simplistic text and singsong rhyme are best suited for two-year-olds: "Tickle. Tingle. Chilly. Fun!/Let's catch snowflakes/one by one." Children will delight in the bright, animated digital art and large, two-dimensional perspective. Supplemental.—Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

Kirkus Reviews

In their second outing, Little Bea and her friends pack as much fun into a winter's day as they can possibly manage (Little Bea, 2011). A game of hide-and-seek starts the day off until everyone is found: Bea, Bear, Rabbit, Owl, Beaver, Deer, Goose, Mouse and Ducks. Observant readers may be able to find those hiding by their tracks in the snow. From there, it's off to make snow angels, catch snowflakes on their tongues, go sliding, have a snowball fight and ice skate. After a hot-chocolate break, it's time to make a new friend--a snow bear they all help craft. Short sentences with easy vocabulary and onomatopoeic words make this accessible to the very young, but the sentences are choppy, and the pages don't flow easily. Roode's art features bright colors against a bluish-white winter landscape. While cute, the stylized animals lack personalities. Rendered digitally, the outlines are straight, stiff and crisp, with little sense of the soft fluff that is real snow. The very young may enjoy this once, but it is no comparison to the likes of The Snowy Day. (Picture book. 2-5)