From School Library Journal
Grade 1-5--An aged Bee-man lives contentedly among his insect friends, surviving on honey and the occasional piece of meat, until the day an itinerant Junior Sorcerer informs him he's been transformed and encourages him to discover his "original form." On hearing this disturbing news, the Bee-man sets off. On his quest for his true nature, he rescues a baby from a dragon. His powerful attraction to the infant convinces him that this may be his original form and with the help of senior sorcerers he returns to his babyhood. The final scene describes a now-mature sorcerer, arriving at a small hut swarming with bees and finding, to his amazement, the once-again adult Bee-man. This delightful story about destiny, which first appeared in print in 1883, is illustrated primarily in earth tones. Sweeping vistas suffused with a long-ago-and-faraway atmosphere alternate with expressive spot art set against white backgrounds. Lynch has a talent for creating mysterious landscapes and capturing character: the befuddled, ragamuffin of a Bee-man and the "languid youth" he encounters in his travels, as well as the puerile sorcerer. The story has also been illustrated by Maurice Sendak (HarperCollins, 2003). His art, done in pastel colors and featuring a portly, heavily jowled Bee-man, highlights the humor of the tale. While readers with a philosophical bent may prefer Lynch's version, there is room on library shelves for both.
--Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 1-3. Stockton's classic story, memorably and rather comically illustrated by Maurice Sendak in 1964, now appears in a large-format picture book with Lynch's dramatic illustrations. The unlikely hero is Bee-man, an old, "ugly, untidy, shriveled, and sun-burnt" figure who is contented with his life as a beekeeper until a young sorcerer informs him that he has been "transformed from something else." Seized with a determination to discover and recover his previous form, the Bee-man goes on a quest that takes him to a stately palace where he learns that noblemen sometimes act ignobly, into a cavern where he rescues a baby from a monstrous dragon, and to a village where he restores the infant to its mother and decides upon his own future. Lynch's spirited artwork, richly detailed and darkly atmospheric, provides a series of imaginative settings and creates a romantic and broadly appealing vision of this original fairy tale. Large in scale and epically cinematic in effect, the beautiful watercolor-and-gouache paintings create a mysterious "otherworld" that will remain part of children's imaginations long after they have graduated to novel-length fantasies. With pictures large enough for sharing with groups, this edition is a read-aloud treasure for good listeners. A DVD giving a behind-the-scenes look at the artist at work is included in the book.
Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
