Little Bee

A call-and-response rhyme describes a succession of jungle animals, each fleeing from the animal that came before it. The commotion starts with a bee that appears on the cover with glistening fabric wings: “Little bee, little bee... why do you flee?/ Because there’s a hungry frog chasing me!” The hungry frog is hopping away from a “scary snake,” which is pursued by a mongoose who’s fleeing a lion, after which follows a hunter. Gibbs’s fluid ink scrawls create a sense of movement and individualize the characters, and a surprise ending brings the chase full-circle. Ages 3–up. (Apr.)