Are We Still Friends?
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Beatrice and Abel are the finest of friends. Beatrice raises bees. Abel grows apples. In summer, they gather sticky, sweet honey together, and in fall, they harvest ripe, red fruit. They make a perfect pair in every season, and so do the bees and the trees.Until one spring morning, Abel startles a bee--ZING!--and gets stung. "WHEE HEE HEE!" he cries. But Beatrice hears only the silly sounds and laughs. OUCH! Is their friendship strong and steady enough to weather the stinging words and messy quarrel that stem from misunderstanding?Friendship and nature form the perfect pair in this warm and winsome celebration of teamwork, ecology, and the art of saying "I'm sorry."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Beatrice, a bear beekeeper, is best friends with her neighbor Abel, a mouse who grows apple trees. In winter, when "the bees and the trees rested," their friendship endures: "Side by side, they spread crispy toast with apple butter, and sipped warm tea with honey," writes Horowitz (Crab Moon). G mez (Dear Bunny) brings to life this idyllic, tidy world with digital illustrations reminiscent of cut-paper art; her lines and shapes have a cheery, direct crispness. Then a misunderstanding triggers a cascade of scowls, insults ("Fuzz Brain!" "Wormy Core!"), and petty revenge, before the two patch things up. This ostensibly familiar story about crossed wires and stubbornness takes on deeper meaning, thanks to the presence of tiny and seemingly subsidiary characters who put the brouhaha in perspective: the bees. Unconcerned with Abel and Beatrice's wrangling, they continue "sipping nectar and spreading pollen, just the same as always." Without dismissing their characters' emotions, Horowitz and G mez alert readers to a core truth: whatever our trivial disputes, the world keeps spinning. Ages 4 8.
