THE BEE BOX THAT JACK BUILT

Despite the obvious inspiration of “The
House that Jack Built,” this text does not accumulate but rather rhythmically
recounts bee-related activities.

“This is the golden honey, / made by
the thousands of busy bees, / that work inside the dark shelter / that stands
in the yard. // And this is Jack, the daddy, / who keeps bees as a hobby, /
gathering honey from the bee box / that stands in the yard.” The bees
pollinate, gather nectar, and make honey; Jack harvests the honey and makes
beeswax candles; his family eats the honey. While bees are a hot topic, this
book falls short in several ways. With rhythm that never takes off and a
narrative that meanders between hive and house, there is no real sense of
continuity from blossom to table. The cheery cartoon art, heavy on honey
yellow, is likewise unsuccessful. The bees themselves, with exaggerated
proboscises and elongated, dully colored abdomens, look uncomfortably like
mosquitoes, and they are depicted carrying pollen on all their legs instead of
only their back two. The hive, described in the text as a modern set of boxes,
has the profile of an old-fashioned straw one and is, as depicted, highly
unlikely to be found in any actual bee yard. Companion title The Cow that
Jack Milked is rather more coherent in narrative but equally halting in its
rhythms. The family members in both books (they appear to be different) all
have beige skin.