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Summary
Summary
This is the bee that stopped on a tree in Enzo's splendid gardens. . . .
And that's how this rollicking adventure from Patricia Polacco begins. A boy drops his book when he takes a good look at that very bee. Then a waiter, who'd just turned around, trips on the book and tips his tray--otherwise he'd have had a good day!
Before you know it, the ladies have spilled their tea; chef Enzo has toppled the spaghetti, chasing his cat, whose name is Lettie. Dishes are hitting the floor; patrons are dashing out the door. Oh, if it weren't for that mischievous bee, there in Enzo's splendid garden!
In this amusing romp, author-artist Patricia Polacco introduces us to her husband, Enzo, who cooks the best spaghetti in Oakland, California (at least when he's not chasing the cat). A whimsical cumulative tale that is a treat to read aloud.
Follow the trail of mishaps that happen--all because of a silly old bee!
Author Notes
Patricia Polacco was born in Lansing, Michigan on July 11, 1944. She attended Oakland Tech High School in Oakland, California before heading off to the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, then Laney Community College in Oakland. She then set off for Monash University, Mulgrave, Australia and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia where she received a Ph.D in Art History, Emphasis on Iconography.
After college, she restored ancient pieces of art for museums. She didn't start writing children's books until she was 41 years old. She began writing down the stories that were in her head, and was then encouraged to join the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. There she learned how to put together a dummy and get a story into the form of a children's picture book. Her mother paid for a trip to New York, where the two visited 16 publishers in one week. She submitted everything she had to more than one house. By the time she returned home the following week, she had sold just about everything.
Polacco has won the 1988 Sydney Taylor Book Award for The Keeping Quilt, and the 1989 International Reading Association Award for Rechenka's Eggs. She was inducted into the Author's Hall of Fame by the Santa Clara Reading Council in 1990, and received the Commonwealth Club of California's Recognition of Excellence that same year for Babushka's Doll, and again in 1992 for Chicken Sunday. She also won the Golden Kite Award for Illustration from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for Chicken Sunday in 1992, as well as the Boston Area Educators for Social Responsibility Children's Literature and Social Responsibility Award. In 1993, she won the Jane Adams Peace Assoc. and Women's Intl. League for Peace and Freedom Honor award for Mrs. Katz and Tush for its effective contribution to peace and social justice. She has won Parent's Choice Honors for Some Birthday in 1991, the video Dream Keeper in 1997 and Thank You Mr. Falker in 1998. In 1996, she won the Jo Osborne Award for Humor in Children's Literature. Her titles The Art of Miss. Chew and The Blessing Cup made The New York Times Best Seller List.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2It all starts so innocentlya young boy drops his book while observing a bee in a lovely outdoor restaurant, "Enzo's." From there, this cumulative tale takes off on a hilarious roller-coaster ride of mishaps. The rhyming text gains momentum as a waiter trips over the book, tips his tray, and spills a very large drink on a matron dressed in pink. Suddenly, the guests are falling all over each other like a line of elegantly dressed dominoes. Adding to the child appeal are some wonderful food accidents, including a pot of spaghetti that lands on Enzo's cat. As the guests start to see the humor in all this chaos, the cat heads for the top of the nearest tree, bringing the fire department into the scene. In the end, the jovial mood of the crowd assures the boy, and readers, that all is forgiven. Half the enjoyment of this story comes from studying the diners in Enzo's garden, all of whom are lovingly portrayed. One of the many humorous touches is a terra-cotta fountain nymph who leaves her post to join the crowd. The art is exuberant, the colors bathed in California sunshine. This story does not have the emotional impact readers have come to expect from Polacco's more serious stories, but it has something equally appealinga tremendous sense of fun.Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
It's fiasco al fresco when Polacco (The Trees of the Dancing Goats; Pink and Say) dips into her well of family stories to serve up this cumulative tale of mayhem set in her husband Enzo's Italian restaurant. It all starts with a "fuzzy old bee, there on the tree/ in Enzo's splendid gardens." A young restaurant patron turns to look at the bee-and drops a book, which trips the waiter, who splashes a drink on the matron, who bumps the ladies and so on. The chef, a cat, a fireman and even Enzo himself hitch a ride on this runaway train before it comes to a messy but satisfying stop. Polacco takes this string of catastrophes in stride, using the opportunity to fill her pencil-and-gouache scenes with dapper, acrobatic characters and plenty of flying food. Though her verse can be a bit cumbersome, readers will delight in the colorful chaos caused by an oblivious kid. Polacco fans will also appreciate the self-portraits of the author and renderings of her husband sprinkled throughout. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
'This is the bee that stopped on a tree / in Enzo's splendid gardens.' In this cumulative tale, a bee sets off a series of mishaps involving restaurant patrons dining alfresco. The lengthy rhyming text is awkward and difficult to read, and Polacco's watercolor and pencil illustrations unattractively portray the numerous diners with grotesque expressions of surprise and horror frozen on their faces. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The prolific Polacco (The Trees of the Dancing Goats, 1996, etc.) tells a cumulative tale of the mayhem that ensues when a bee lands on a tree at an outdoor restaurant, setting off a frenzied chain of events; ""The House That Jack Built"" provides the blueprint--""This is the bee that stopped on a tree in Enzo's splendid gardens."" A boy who drops his book to look at a bee causes the waiter to trip, splashing a drink on a matron, forcing ladies to trip and spill their tea, resulting in a man face down in the dessert tray, who jostles the chef, and so forth. The rhyme scheme gets the better of Polacco, with awkward rhythms that deviate from the pattern. As the chaos spreads, the lines become jarring: ""Here comes Enzo, full of spaghetti, chasing his cat, whose name is Lettie, hoping to catch her, but she thinks not and runs through the room, wearing the pot that was jostled and spilled."" The result is a glorified food fight. The illustrations are crowded with swarms of restaurant-goers whose mouths show perpetual astonishment, but the staging is clumsy, too. Readers cannot follow the action as it is choreographed in the scenes, e.g., the waiter is suspended mid-air for two spreads, implying a short passage of time, while another man in those pages goes from a relaxed pose sitting behind a table to running away in panic some distance from the scene, indicating that the time that has lapsed is longer. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ages 6^-9. As she has so many times before, Polacco has drawn on her inspiration for an appealing picture book from a family story; this time, it's what might have happened at her bearded husband Enzo's Italian garden restaurant. The rhyming text begins: "This is the bee that stopped on a tree in Enzo's splendid gardens." A riotous chain of events is set into motion, including broken dishes, smashed deserts, and a cat tangled in spaghetti--all in Enzo's fancy outdoor eatery. The verse can be a bit forced, but it is always energetic. As usual, Polacco's distinctive artwork is wonderful. Her realistic portraits of a lively cast of characters are richly colored, expressively individualized, and humorously captured. Strong rhythms and ebullient action make this one to consider for reading aloud. --Julie Corsaro