When the Bees Fly Home by Andrea Cheng

Illustrated by Joline McFadden. 32 p., Tilbury House, 2002.

Sometimes, arbitrary expectations - from ourselves or others - can lead to overlooking our real talents. Such is the case for Jonathan, who tries to help his beekeeper father. Jonathan is slender and not particularly strong; even his little brother seems more muscular. He senses his father's disappointment in him. Jonathan also has a creative talent: he makes tiny sculptures from beeswax. When it occurs to him to decorate his mother's homemade candles with these, they sell more candles than ever before, making a huge economic contribution to their struggling family. Because of Jonathan's candle decorations, this family is going to be all right. With Jonathan, children can learn to celebrate their strengths, as well as understanding that it's possible to be a successful male without conforming to a gender stereotype - even one that may seem reasonable. Each page also includes facts about bees, and there is a resource list for insect information at the end.

Ages 4-8
Main character's cultural background: European American
Cultural context: multicultural