Swarm of Bees

by Lemony Snicket, Rilla Alexander (Illustrator)

Whether you're a kid or a bee, sometimes you feel so mad, you buzz around looking for people to sting and trouble to make. See how one boy, a swarm of bees, and a whole town can get riled up and then find a way to feel better through the comfort of unconditional love and community.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Emotion, Fiction, Storytime, Animals, Humor

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Lemony Snicket had an unusual education and a perplexing youth and now endures a despondent adulthood. His previous published works include the thirteen volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Composer is Dead, and 13 Words. His new series is All The Wrong Questions.

For A Series of Unfortunate Events:
www.lemonysnicket.com

For All The Wrong Questions:
www.lemonysnicketlibrary.com

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved ‘the Dark’ by Lemony Snicket. This is not even close to that. I don’t really like the artwork much. The story seems a little mean. The bees are angry and I get that sometimes it does feel good to get angry. The nephew was so disappointed the boy in the story did not get stung. He did laugh that the boy was throwing tomatoes at everyone. I had to tell him that he could never do that. I could tell he was ignoring me. He’s good at that. He lives by the motto: ask forgiveness not permission.

It’s a rather weird beginning story really. Neither kid knew what to make of it. The boy didn’t really get in trouble for throwing tomatoes at everyone besides having to clean them up. The bees just got put in a bag. I don’t know what to make of it either. It’s one line or so per page with crayon looking artwork. I do wonder if the bees sort of represent the boys anger in some ways, but bees generally aren't aggressive. I don't know.

The niece did not like this. She gave this 1 star. The nephew thought throwing tomatoes was funny and he gave it 3 stars. You should see what you make of the story. Strange.

[Arminzerella · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a beekeeper, I feel I need to correct Lemony Snicket's assertion that bee swarms are angry. When bees swarm it is to found new colonies, and because they are homeless they aren't aggressive or territorial about their space, although they might be stirred to protect their queen. These swarms do not travel around harassing people and can't really be characterized as "angry." Maybe poking a wasps' or yellow jackets' or disturbing a bee hive would be more accurate. Or maybe this needs a better simile/metaphor. Also, where did all of those tomatoes come from??

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get that DH feels very put upon by the angry crowds and this feels like a metaphor for his existence right now (re: MeToo, racist comments) but also, it's just a weirdly unfulfilling book that doesn't quite make sense. Why do the bees pass by the others? Surely, not because they're busy.

I just...maybe just apologize and mean it?

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why? What?!

May angry bees chase Snicket and make him apologize AND atone for his actions.

[Chance Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The text is a random mess at times and the illustrations took me a couple reads to get into, but mainly I really had to grapple with my own anger issues and thirst for revenge that I wanted the bees to sting the boy SO BAD, but at least he has to clean up the mess he makes.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is between a 1 and 2 star rating for me. The entire time reading this I thought the text would eventually have some kind of rhythm but it never did.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If only being busy was enough reason for a swarm of bees (or angry person) to not attack... Other better emotional intellegence and emotional regulation books exist. Ones that actually have a point and clear plot to get there. Give this one a pass.

[Malissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eugh.

[Alex Sarll]

"It can feel good to be angry. It can feel better to stop." Undeniably a message the world needs, but I think Chekhov would still have words about a story following an angry swarm of bees who never actually get to sting anyone.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The text was a mess to follow and the connections did not make sense.
A miss from this talented author.

[Lana Gionfriddo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lemony Snicket's latest was a bit disappointing. Illustrations were great, loved the bees as plain black and yellow circles. I was excited for a twist at the end, as is typical of most Snicket picture books, but it ended up being sort of meh with a luke-warm message about anger. I think my trio of kiddos at home will be, unfortunately, too uninterested in the story to get the moral at the end.

[Lu's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This got outright belly laughs.


(May 2019, library book)

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving hanging out with picture books more in my new job, and this was a great one to read! It's got that dark funny Lemony vibe and rhythm in the text and the illustrations are gorgeous. Only complaint is I wanted the boy to get stung - but I'm mean!!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the retro cartoon illustrations in brilliant, bright, bold colors.

[Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent idea of it is okay to be mad, but best to let it go! While I like the main concept of the book, somehow I couldn't see this book engaging my students. Wished I could have said more positive, but the book somehow missed the mark with me.

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so glad I wasn’t the only person dumbfounded by this book. Normally I’ll give another star to awful books with good illustrations but not today. I love the bold colors and exciting illustrations; however the book was awful. My six year old wasn’t sure what it was about and frankly, neither was I.

[Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two stars for the artwork. That’s pretty much it.

On second thought, nah. Daniel Handler sucks and this book sucks. Even if Daniel Handler didn't suck, this book would STILL suck. The artwork IS nice but it doesn't make the text suck any less. Minus one star because, well, Daniel Handler can suck it.

[❂ Ann ❂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the author should have chosen "hornets" since bees are relatively friendly. Hornets will chase you to the end of the earth like apocalyptic horses. Red hot anger is the topic. Anger that's out of control, spreading like welts of tomatoes, swarm of bees--all by the actions of one person. Can it all change for the better?

[Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. This was... fine. I think a kid would find it too obtuse and an adult too preachy. The story was both broad and repetitive. The illustrations were also... fine.

There’s just lots lots better out there. Skip this one.

[Margaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sort of feel like this is some overly-indirect work? I'm giving it two stars because I love Lemony Snicket, but tbh I don't know if the intended audience (which I'm assuming is children) would enjoy this book.

[Ember Air · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a lot of confliction about my rating for this book. I feel like I have have said this for every Lemony Snicket picture book yet, but here we go again: I LOVED the idea of this book. I loved what it was trying to teach/convey, and the theme behind the idea. HOWEVER, I do not feel that this book successfully covered the points it was aiming for. It is presented as a picture book that is supposed to help children learn that emotions are okay, even when they are scary, but we have to learn how to control them and not let them hurt others (i.e., anger). Rather than focusing on techniques to control or handle the feelings, or exploring what the feeling is like, this book seems to glorify throwing a tantrum. So, I love the idea, I love the concept and goal, but I do not actually like this book. I feel like it fails to do what it set out to accomplish.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review book arrived as a surprise today. We have been thoroughly in the throws of reading through A Series of Unfortunate Events and thus a picture book by the same is intriguing. The illustrations are fun and make me want to lead an art session with crisp flat pencil erasers. The story is cute and quaint with a good conversation starter about holding on vs. letting the anger go. It's not awesome, but we enjoyed it all the same.

Review book, honest opinion.

[Katrina Clohessy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations really pop, but the story centers on dealing with anger and is just plain odd. A boy throws a tomato at a beehive and the swarm follows him through town, but has too much of a conscience to sting anyone else. And even though the boy continues throwing tomatoes, the swarm eventually just stops being angry once captured by the beekeeper. The message? “It can feel good to be angry. It can feel better to stop.” Strange...40 pages.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the bold, retro illustrations, which looked straight out of 1960s children's books. The story also had an "older" feel...right up until the end, when there was no comeuppance for all of the people and animals who got pelted by tomatoes by the mean-spirited, tomato-throwing kid. Seriously, that kid deserved at least one bee sting! But I guess this was more about making lemonade out of lemons (or pasta sauce out of squished tomatoes), than punishment.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 2 out of 5]

"It can feel good to be angry. It can feel better to stop."

Good story, but the younger child wouldn't catch the moral of the story. Only older children will connect the swarm of bees to the emotions inside of us. However, the illustrations, are cool, they won't attract the older child. It was okay, but it has a good message.

[Effie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one. I was worried that it was going to be mean-spirited, but it didn't turn out that way. This poor angry swarm of bees has too much conscience to sting anyone, meanwhile the boy... This would probably be good for a kid learning to deal with managing their feelings.

[kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

like the illustrations but the story is really random

[Stephanie Iken · Rating 2 out of 5]

This books just felt like chaos. The message wasn’t as clear as in the Bad Mood and the Stick.

The only thing really interesting to me was Lemony’s typical dedication: “To B.”

Beatrice?

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange book with a plot that doesn't really make much sense. Really cool illustrations, but not a fan of the text.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A swarm of bees is angry, and a little boy is throwing tomatoes at things. All is not right with the world. But the illustrations are bright and bold.