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    The Children's Book Review

    Beholding Bee by Kimberly Newton Fusco | Review

    Elizabeth VaradanBy Elizabeth Varadan3 Mins Read Ages 9-12 Books with Girl Characters Chapter Books
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    Elizabeth Varadan | The Children’s Book Review | September 21, 2013

    Beholding BeeBeholding Bee

    By Kimberly Newton Fusco 

    Age Range: 9 – 12 years

    Hardcover: 336 pages

    Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (February 12, 2013)

    What to Expect: Homelessness, carnivals, magic, dealing with differences.

    This should be a sad tale but instead is up-lifting. Much of that is due to the protagonist’s wry voice: Twelve-year-old Bee (short for Beatrice) is an orphan and works for a traveling carnival, living in the back of a truck with nineteen-year-old Pauline. Pauline, her caretaker by default, tells Bee the birthmark on her forehead was made by an angel’s kiss. The manager, Ellis, says he’ll put Bee in the freak show when she’s older. Customers gawk at Bee. After some boys threaten her, Bobby, who runs the pig races and is sweet on Pauline, teaches Bee how to run fast so she’ll always be safe.

    Bee’s world turns upside down when Ellis splits the carnival into two locations and Pauline goes with Arthur to New Jersey. Bee feels abandoned. She runs away, taking Peabody, a stray mutt who has adopted her, and cute Cordelia, one of Bobby’s pigs. When this weary trio finally comes to a cosy house on a road far away from the carnival, a mysterious woman and her companion are waiting on the porch. Then they disappear. And so begins Bee’s new life in the kind of house Bee and Pauline had always wanted, shared now with a mutt, a pig, and two elderly ladies no one else can see.

    Bee faces new challenges, of course, but her quaint observations had me smiling on every page. As the story progresses, Bee learns the truth of that old adage about “the eye of the beholder”. And even though magic plays a charming role in this book, Bee develops the discipline and wisdom to make use of her luck. She confronts bullies, defends other students with handicaps, and she even rescues Pauline from an unforeseen plight.

    “Generally it is not a good idea to fret too long over things like ladies who disappear, or ladies who appear, for that matter, or you will lose your nerve. I try to remember how the lady in the orange flappy hat always showed up when I was having a very bad day and she helped make things better. Maybe this is one of those days.”

    This book will appeal to readers in middle grades and middle school who like quirky characters,  stories about overcoming hardship, ghosts, and stories set in the WWII era.

    Add this book to your collection: Beholding Bee

    Beholding Bee was reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan.

    What to Read Next:

    1. The Stone Lions by Gwen Dandridge | Dedicated Review
    2. Seven Stories Up, by Laurel Snyder | Book Review
    3. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes | Book Review
    4. A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

    Ghosts Historical Fiction Homelessness Homelessness & Poverty Kimberly Newton Fusco Magic World War 2
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    Previous ArticleGoddess Girls, Book 11: Persephone the Daring | Book Spotlight
    Next Article The Children’s Italian Book Fairs in the San Francisco Bay Area | October 2013
    Elizabeth Varadan
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    Elizabeth Varadan writes for children and adults. Her middle-grade mystery, Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls (published June 15, 2015), is set in Victorian London and she is currently working on Book Two. Varadan loves to read and write about the Victorian Era and blogs about the many things she uncovers in her research. Visit: elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com and victorianscribbles.blogspot.com

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