Honey Bea - Softcover

Siegelson, Kim L

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0982902700 ISBN 13: 9780982902707

Publisher: Six Hens Press, 2010

Synopsis

On a Louisiana plantation during the heart of slavery, young Beatrice grows up in the care of her protective aunt Abeille. As Bea nears her thirteenth birthday, strange things begin to happen around her. Her master, Monsieur Reynard, seems to have taken a special interest in her, and she has no idea why. Soon secrets held for generations are revealed and Bea feels betrayed. Who is her ally? Her master or her family? And who can help her understand and harness her ancestral power, the power that could win her freedom?

About this title

About the Author:

Kim L. Siegelson, a native of Georgia, was the first recipient of the Center for Multicultural Children's Literature Writing Award. Her most recent book, In the Time of the Drums,won the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family.

From Booklist:

Gr. 7-10. Weaving strands of fairy tales, voudon, slave stories, and African myth, Siegelson crafts a mesmerizing tale heavy with the scent of honey and flowers and rooted in Louisiana soil. Beatrice is a slave born with the green eyes of her mother and raised by her grandmother's twin, Tante Abeille, who knows secrets about the girl's past and future. At 13, Beatrice rebels against her aunt's wishes (and her own troubling dreams) and enters the master's house, where Monsieur Reynard's books entrance her. Her broken silver locket with a bee clasp signifies both the blood ties between Beatrice and Reynard and the lore of the bees, whose honey-laced magic averts disaster in an explosive climax. An unusual, lush new voice in the tradition of magic realism, Siegelson blends ancestral voices; elements of fairy lore, including Briar Rose and Cinderella; and intoxicating language: "Beatrice knew true sweetness. On her tongue, it tasted like freedom." GraceAnne DeCandido
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About this edition

• Publisher: Six Hens Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0982902700
• ISBN 13: 9780982902707
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192