A Good Place

February 1, 2022
Four insects set out on a mission to find the perfect home. Bee thinks some flowers would do the trick, so the foursome install themselves in a cluster of yellow daisies growing out of a sidewalk; but human foot traffic poses danger, so they conclude that "this is not a good place." Dragonfly suggests that they try living in a pond, but the one they find turns out to be a puddle in the middle of an unsuitably busy street. Beetle's and Ladybug's ideas also come to naught. "Hungry and sick and tired," the little swarm succumb to despair. Luckily, they meet a sympathetic butterfly who knows "a good place to live." The four friends follow Butterfly over a brick wall, where a better home than anything they could have ever imagined awaits. The simple text will draw young children in with its repetition and strong opportunities for making inferences. Instead of quotation marks, typographical shifts are used to distinguish narration from dialogue. Caregivers and teachers can use the book as a springboard to discuss insect habitats with youngsters. Cousins sticks to her trademark style of bold, simple, uncluttered gouache pictures against solid backgrounds. No human characters are shown, but Butterfly notes that a boy is responsible for creating the "good place" the insects ultimately embrace as their abode. A subtly allegorical story about the universal search for home. (Picture book. 3-7)

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Starred review from April 1, 2022

PreS-K-A quartet of six-legged friends-Bee, Dragonfly, Beetle, and Ladybug-are on an adventure to find a good place to settle. And what should a good place have? For each of the bug buddies that differs: Bee would like flowers, Ladybug needs leaves, Beetle must have dead wood, and Dragonfly yearns for a pond. Every time they think they have found their spot in the busy city, they quickly realize it is too busy or polluted to be safe. As luck would have it, the very discouraged bugs cross paths with a beautiful butterfly who has the inside scoop on a well-kept garden nearby. Cousins conveys a very important lesson on ecosystem preservation nestled within an engaging story for preschoolers. The illustrations of the crawly critters and their escapades, in her bold and energetic style, make this title a welcome addition to the shelves. VERDICT An accessible tale of conservation told from the perspective of nature's tiniest creatures, this is spring story time perfection.-Sarah Simpson

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