Jhupli's Honey Bee Box by Achintyarup Ray, illustrated by Shivam Choudhary

International picture books are always a bit of a gamble for a US audience, especially for my small town. They tend to be much longer than we usually use for a read-aloud and can have very different sensibilities. However, I've gotten good results from the Amazon Crossing titles I've looked at, and was willing to give this one a chance when it was offered for review. It turned out to work very well and I look forward to recommending it.

The opening spread shows swirling green, brown, and yellow hues decorating the busy village of Jhupli, who sits in a mango tree, looking over the river, waiting for Baba to return. Jhupli is a small, barefoot girl in a red dress, and she anxiously watches the river as the text explains that Baba and the other men in the village have gone out to collect honey and wood. Jhupli imagines what they will do when he returns and frets over the dangers he is facing as she goes through her daily routine. When he finally returns with a sweet treat, she is delighted, her eyes glowing with love. The illustrations glow with heat and color, pulsing yellow and green, with a looming, stylized tiger symbolizing the very real danger her father faces.

Deep turquoise mats and yellow starlight splash across the page as Jhupli lies awake at night, trying to think of a solution that will keep her father and all the others safe. Then she thinks of something! Going to her school teacher, Mastermoshai, she requests the honey bee boxes she heard the forest department gave out - then there will be no need to go into the dangerous jungle to collect the honey. All ends well, with a happy picture showing Jhupli and her little brother happily at home with their father, watching over their bee box, while goats and birds wander about the warm browns of their safe village.

Back matter explains the true story of the people who gather honey in the Sundarbans and the dangers they face, as well as the use of honey bee boxes, or artificial hives.

This story will be a different experience for readers used to the more format of Western informational picture books. The story is not as linear and more text-heavy than they might be used to, with some confusion as to how much time is passing while Jhupli waits for her father. There's a lot of context and information that isn't clear in the story - can one artificial hive collect enough honey to replace what Jhupli's Baba normally collects? They also go into the jungle to collect wood and that's never addressed after the first mention. Why were the honey boxes not used before? Readers who want to know more about Sundarban honey collectors and attempts to switch to cultivated apiaries will want to research this fascinating subject further.

Verdict: This could be used in a typical storytime, if the reader is able to edit and condense as they go, keeping it short enough to maintain children's attention. However, the main use I see for this is including it in the readaloud collections I put together for my teachers. Their classes range from 3rd-5th grade and they are always interested in unique and intriguing titles. This gives a look into a culture that's very different from my small midwestern town, and could also spark a conversation on problem-solving and different cultures and traditions in other places. A strong title to diversify collections.

ISBN: 9781662514678; Published October 2023 by Amazon Crossing; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library