Review by Booklist Review
A focus on bees is an unexpectedly engaging angle to this account of the 2019 fire atop the Notre-Dame de Paris. With light and airy language, Browne invites readers to visit Paris in the spring and join beekeeper Sibyle atop the cathedral in bidding her buzzing charges stretch their wings to gather "pollen in your pockets / and nectar in your belly!" And if one day "everything changes" amid sirens and swirling bursts of flame, no sooner do the ashes settle than up rises the sun to address more than just the city's insects: "Come! / Rebuild. / Work with each other. / You are stronger together." Goodale intersperses finely drawn scenes of honeybees in hives and in flight with broader glimpses of the towering cathedral and surrounding city, all sandwiched between fascinating, schematic, before-and-after overhead views of the rooftop to show the damage to architectural features and where the hives were. Better yet, in her afterword, the author reassuringly notes that the bees were unharmed in the blaze and have been moved to ground level during the reconstruction. Adults privileged to share this with younger audiences will find a list of recommended reading just for them at the end.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Graceful prose by Browne (Dorothy the Brave) pays homage to Paris's venerable Notre-Dame cathedral, and to the bees that lived atop it before its 2019 fire. Highlighted in soft brown lines, multimedia spreads by Goodale (The Moon Remembers) trace a young queen's mating flight above the city before she returns to a cathedral-top hive to lay eggs "in thousands of perfect hexagons." Above Paris, the hives are tended by a brown-skinned beekeeper just visible on the cathedral roof, and clad in a white bee suit and veil. But then, sudden catastrophe: fire consumes the edifice, and firefighters work "to quench the flames, to save the cathedral./ To save the hives." Goodale draws the cathedral's beekeeper working in front of the scaffolding erected to repair the building. "Rebuild," Browne writes, "Work with each other... just like the bees." The story highlights the contemporary, as city-dwellers of many skin tones patronize bookstalls and drink coffee in spring; the ancient ("This cathedral has outlived kings and queens"); and the way each species contributes, together, to flourishing community. Back matter includes photographs and details about the fire and the rebuilding. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Literary Group. Illustrator's agent: Lori Kilkelly, LK Literary Agency. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--3--An overhead view of Notre-Dame before the blaze of April 2019 sets the scene; the book opens on spring in Paris, as Sibyle the beekeeper tends to the hives that are situated on a high terrace of the cathedral's Sacristy, near the famous rose windows. The bees, dormant over winter, find their ways to the blossoms of a French spring while their queen lays eggs in the centuries-old wax of the honeycomb. Then fire breaks out, and the fire-fighting is swift as heartbreaking events unfold; there is never a thought but that all will be rebuilt. A second overhead view, post-fire, shows readers the extent of the damage and what was saved or salvaged. The facts are presented poetically, with license, so that text about the bees dancing directions for other bees as to the location of pollen is shown next to a scene of the queen laying eggs. The melding of two compelling stories--beekeeping at the cathedral and the fire--acts to weaken both, and the last sentence only underscores this: "When the tall black cloud of smoke and ash finally clears, the sun rises to say, 'Come! Rebuild. Work with each other. You are stronger together. Just like the bees.'" Back matter includes more about the story in an author's note, along with diagrams of Notre Dame and recommended reading. VERDICT A messy hybrid of two promising stories results in a lovingly created book that will find an audience but reads like a lost opportunity.--Kimberly Olson Fakih
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In April 2019, people held their breath as the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral burned. Among the priceless items to survive the flames were beehives housed on the cathedral's roof. Browne's lyrical picture book tells the story of the bees who call Notre-Dame home and the fire that threatened their hives. Drawing parallels between the cooperative worker bees and the cooperation displayed by rescue workers during and after the catastrophic fire, the story takes on greater symbolism: "Come! Rebuild. Work with each other. You are stronger together." Goodale's mixed-media illustrations combine printing, colored pencils, and a variety of paints and collage materials to create a vibrant spring in Paris before the explosion of smoke and flame encroaches on the idyllic scene. Yellows, pinks, and greens are replaced by violent reds and oranges, while clouds of gray smoke that engulf the images fill the once-open spreads. Images of the burning cathedral and the valiant efforts of rescue workers effectively build tension. The welcome news of the bee colony's survival closes the story, while details in the concluding note let readers know that the difficult task of rebuilding Notre-Dame is underway. Eric CarpenterSeptember/October 2023 p.90 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
When Notre Dame Cathedral burned in April 2019, the honeybees on the roof above its sacristy survived. Amid the world's sorrow at the terrible damage suffered by the storied cathedral, the bees' survival emerged as a story of hope. Browne treats it likewise, but her text focuses on the ordinary miracles of the honeybee life cycle as the context for the story of the fire. Loving scenes of Paris in springtime preface the bees' emergence: "Bonjour, les filles!" Sibyle the beekeeper greets them. The bees fly above the city, then return to the "small pine box" where the queen "lays her eggs…in thousands of perfect hexagons waxed by generations of bees that came before her." With this, Browne cleverly segues to the ancient cathedral and its construction; the parallel is evoked again in firefighters' efforts "to quench the flames, to save the cathedral. To save the hives." Goodale's multimedia illustrations are set on warm, sepia-toned backgrounds; her bees flit among cottony pink and white blossoming trees and around the ornate architectural flourishes of the cathedral. Introduced by a wordless spread dominated by billows of gray smoke, the fire itself occupies just a few pages before scenes of rebuilding. An author's note provides further information on both the fire and the bees and their keeper, whom Goodale depicts with beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Emphasizing resilience, this tale effectively captures a fascinating episode in recent history. (cathedral diagrams, recommended reading) (Informational picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
