Diary of a Bee

Stepanka Sekaninova used to work as a TV reporter and in the production of children’s programs. Now she is a writer and an editor-in-chief, living in the Czech Republic.Linh Dao spent much of her life in Hanoi, Vietnam, where she was born, before moving to the Czech Republic. She studied illustration in Brno and animation in Zlín, where her graduation film earned several international awards. In 2016, she won a prize in the Young Creative category at the ADC Creative Awards. After a stint in corporate life, she returned to freelancing as an illustrator and animator. She lives in Brno, where she survives mainly on potato chips and green tea.

Selected for the CBC April 2025 Hot Off The Press List."Gr 1-3–This informational picture book follows the fictionalized life cycle of Matilda, a honeybee, as she develops from a larva to an industrious worker bee. Although the book is brimming with factual information, the realism is offset with touches of whimsy in the text and illustrations. Matilda carries woven baskets to gather pollen and envies the restful life of a male drone, who is later shown wearing a tuxedo for his “marriage” to the queen. The digital illustrations have a painterly quality, capturing the golden light of the hive and the “sunlit meadow” in layered hues reminiscent of watercolor. The translation from the original Czech is stilted at times, and lines such as “It’s only proper that the queen has a grander chamber, as befits her status” may need to be rephrased or explained to young readers. With multiple scenes depicted on a page and text that is a mix of paragraphs, speech bubbles, and diagram captions, this book is best suited to one-on-one sharing. A better match for groups is Candace Fleming’s Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera. VERDICT Informative text and attractive illustrations make this a decent additional purchase in a crowded field of bee-related books." —Amy Reimann, School Library Journal"This engaging story will attract young picture book readers with its personal approach and insights based on natural history." —Midwest Book Review - Children's Bookwatch"The illustrations are cute and readers will learn a lot about daily bee life and the ways a hive changes over time with a new queen and lots of other new bees." —Laura Gardner, Youth Services Book Review"Beautiful, warm illustrations and well-written, easy to understand text combine into this informative look inside the hive and the life of Matilda, the bee. The warm and expressive illustrations pair wonderfully with the story. The text flows like a mini-diary with the day of life given at the top before a short text lets Matilda explain what she's up to. The information is easy to understand, is interesting, and offers new information. Diary of a Bee is a perfect introductory book for kiddos who are interested in our busy, buzzing little friends." —Cherokee Crum, YA Books Central"Diary of a Bee is a perfect example of what I love about children's nonfiction. The illustrations are lively and beautiful, and do a great job to support the storytelling and information that they accompany. I was really impressed by Sekaninova's approach to explaining some of the parts of the bee's lifecycle that might seem sadder to little ones, and I think her matter-of-fact yet gentle way of explaining bees dying, disappearing, or leaving the hive is really well done." —Sarah A., NetGalley-Reviewer"A gorgeously illustrated and delightfully informative look at the lifespan of a bee, exploring their various jobs as feeder, forager, builder, guard, and more. This is a perfect introductory book for kiddos who are interested in our busy, buzzing little pals!" —Victoria R., NetGalley-Librarian"This was a very cute read that was cozy, yet informative way to teach young children about bees. It follows Matilda, a bee, and she goes about her jobs in the hive. I would highly encourage this book to any bee lovers, or classrooms that talk about animal jobs." —Kaitlyn B., NetGalley-Educator