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Description
Best friends Cub and Bat learn that saying please is the way to a sweet reward in this playful, phonics-based early reader from acclaimed author-illustrator Will Hillenbrand.
When Cub sees a swarm of buzzing bees, he can’t bee-lieve his luck! Cub loves honey . . . and he’ll do anything to get it. He gets a big bin. He gets a big box. He climbs on top. But when his plan to take the honey goes sideways, his best friend Bat comes up with an even more satisfying solution: just say please and ask nicely!
Will Hillenbrand’s adorable artwork shines in this lively early reader that will delight the youngest readers with the sweetest treat of all: a journey into a lifelong love of reading. This phonics-based reader offers plenty of practice with the letter b and short vowels. With fun stories and great pictures, new readers will say . . . “I like to read!” Created by The award-winning-artists and talented newcomers and tested by educational experts, I Like to Read® books help develop vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension that lead to reading success. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
These winsome characters are set against single-colored backgrounds, making the controlled vocabulary, thought bubbles, and short dialogs easy to decipher. The action lines and dynamic compositions add energy to the simple plot, and the images offer relevant clues for decoding the text.
Booklist
This is a superb early reader that will leave children entertained as it reinforces reading confidence.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1--A black bear cub daydreams of honey. When he and his friend Bat notice some bees, Cub stacks a garbage can on a box on a toy taxi to try to steal some honey from the hive. "Bad idea!" Bat warns, but it's too late. Cub topples to the ground. Bat takes a more polite approach to honey retrieval, and Cub commits to doing better next time. While Bat largely is identical from page to page, Cub's postures and faces are expressive and humorous in the simple yet dynamic illustrations. Varied colors, shapes, and text styles in speech bubbles communicate different ways to interpret repeated words, with a focus on the letter b and short vowel sounds. The simple, fablelike tale will entertain new readers. VERDICT Another solid addition to the phonics-based "I Like to Read" series.--Rachel Owens
Copyright 2026 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Will Hillenbrand has written and illustrated a wide range of picture books for children, including the popular Bear and Mole series. Spring Is Here won the Please Touch Museum Book Award. What a Treasure! a Pennsylvania One Book, was written with his spouse Jane Hillenbrand. Will lives in Ohio, and is the Illustrator and Author in Residence at Kent State University. Find him on the web at www.willhillenbrand.com.
