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Beanie’s Web
Beanie’s Web, written by Larry Ebert and illustrated by Jenny Ma, is a gentle children’s book about friendship, trust, and looking beyond first impressions. The story begins when Beanie, a peaceful country spider, asks Frieda, a city fly, to be his friend. Frieda is immediately suspicious because everything she knows about spiders tells her she should keep her distance. Beanie doesn’t argue with her fear so much as patiently show her who he is. He explains that he’s a vegetarian, frees insects that become caught in his web, and uses the morning dewdrops from that web to care for his garden. That simple setup gives young readers an easy way to think about how trust can grow through someone’s actions.
One of the nicest parts of the book is how Beanie’s character comes through in small, concrete moments. He waters his garden, invites Frieda along, shares the fruits and vegetables he’s picked, and includes her in the peaceful little community around him. Frieda’s change of heart feels connected to what she actually sees and experiences. By the time she tells Beanie that she’ll be his friend, the moment feels earned because she’s watched him live up to everything he said about himself. The book’s message about kindness is clear, but it comes through the characters’ interactions.
Jenny Ma’s watercolor-style illustrations give the story much of its personality. The pages are filled with soft greens, blues, pinks, and oranges, and there’s almost always something happening beyond the main conversation. Birds sit in the trees, ducks and frogs gather around the water, and rabbits, raccoons, turtles, and other animals move through Beanie’s world. The illustration of the dew-covered web on page 18 is especially fitting because it turns something Frieda fears into something delicate and beautiful. Later, the garden scenes become crowded with vegetables, flowers, buckets, and friendly animals, which helps make Beanie’s home feel busy and welcoming. The pictures invite children to linger on each spread and notice details that the short text doesn’t spell out.
The ending brings the book’s themes together in a warm, cheerful way. Frieda decides that Beanie really is the peaceful spider he claimed to be, and the final pages connect their new friendship with qualities such as honesty, kindness, loyalty, compassion, and unselfishness. An epilogue explains that Frieda’s name is associated with peace and joy, which fits the home and friendships she has found, and the book closes with coloring and activity pages built around the phrase “Peace + Kindness = Joy.” Beanie’s Web is a sweet, visually playful picture book that gives children a friendly way to talk about prejudice, trust, generosity, and the way a person’s actions can change what we think we know about them.
Available November 15th, 2026
Positive Outlook and Courage
Sophie Moon and the Honeybees follows a curious young girl through four seasons of beekeeping with her grandfather as lessons from the hive help her navigate friendship, loss, courage, consequences, and change. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for the story was based on my own experience as a beekeeper. I have been keeping bees since 2016, and each season brings its own challenges. Spring is very busy; the natural world is waking up after a long, cold winter. A perfect time to start something new. Just like Sophie did in deciding to make a friend and be brave enough to speak up and give a presentation at school. This is the season when the bees start building up their hive to the peak of Summer. This season is hot; the hives are filled with honey and life. Sophie is the happiest with her new best friend Catalina and her success at school. Then, Fall arrives, bringing a big change in the natural world and Sophie’s life. She loses her friend, gets punished by her Grandpa, but she also gains confidence in her own abilities. Because of all the things she achieved in Spring, Summer, and Fall, Sophie goes through a soft arc of character development that gets much stronger in book two. Also, during winter, my beehives are very quiet. The bees stay inside, keeping warm, trying to outlast the winter months. This is the time of reflection and hard truths. Sometimes, some hives don’t make it through the cold months. Sophie spends time outside in the cold snow and realises that her Grandpa will always be her friend and a stout supporter. This means a lot for a shy, sweet girl who was afraid to speak up during class last spring. So, I guess it felt right to use the changing of the four seasons in a year to follow Sophie’s development. I think even we adults often measure achievements in terms of months when we look back at changes in our lives.
Sophie often connects what she learns about bees to friendship, belonging, and loss. How did you develop those parallels between the hive and her personal life?
When Sophie first heard about her Grandpa’s new hobby of beekeeping, she was afraid. She asked, “The stinging kind?” She is so right that starting something new in life may cause a lot of emotional pain, stress, and fear. A lot of people are afraid of bees. I don’t like to get stung, but I do every year, many times. It hurts. Rejections hurt; not knowing how to do something can be stressful; receiving negative feedback can be discouraging, and so watching Grandpa work with the bees, and him allowing the fact that “Yes, they can sting,” lets Sophie know that it is okay to be hurt sometimes. Children have to experience difficulties in a safe way to become confident and face hardships with a positive outlook and courage. This lesson perhaps comes out too strong in book two, but I think that is how children are. They watch the world, their parents, teachers, grandparents, and take away the best with proper guidance.
Grandpa teaches Sophie largely through questions, demonstrations, and natural consequences. Was there a particular person or relationship that inspired his character?
His character is inspired by my own beliefs and experiences. He is based on a mixture of people I have known and know. But once, I received a negative review regarding Grandpa’s character. It said that he was very flat, colourless, with no character arc at all. I wish I could have debated that opinion. I think Grandpa is what every child needs. He is a loving, steadfast, strong, patient, and unchanging family member. His house never changes; he is always present; he bakes cakes, tries new things, and encourages through unconditional love. He is a wall that Sophie can lean on. No child has ever grown up happily around unreliable adults. His unchanging state is what gives Sophie room to grow and become a confident girl.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I have just published the second book in the Sophie Moon series, and right now I am working on two books. One is a spin-off for Sophie Moon, and the other is based in the Arctic, steeped in the Aurora lights, with creatures fighting for survival.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Facebook | Amazon
Finding Bravery in a hive.
A young girl overcomes her fears with the help of her grandfather and his honeybees.
It is spring time and nine years old Sophie Moon is excited about spending time with her grandfather in his log cabin.
He has a surprise for her. A package of honeybees is waiting to be installed in a new hive. Although it isn’t the puppy Sophie hoped for; she is curious about the world of beekeeping.
During the passing seasons, the honeybees become the answer to many of her troubles and fears.
“‘Why don’t we suit up and whisper to the bees. They’ll hear you and mayhap give you advice,’ Grandpa said smiling.”
Supported by her loving grandfather and seeking solace by visiting the beehives in each season, Sophie’s fears and relationships rise and fall throughout the school year.
A charming and educational story about personal growth tied closely to the life of honeybees away from the digital world.
Sophie Moon and the Honeybees
Sophie Moon and the Honeybees is a warm, gently educational children’s book built around Sophie’s visits with her grandfather through spring, summer, fall, and winter. Each season brings another stage in Grandpa’s beekeeping and another small challenge for Sophie, so the book develops on two tracks at once. Readers learn how a hive works, what queens and workers do, how honey is harvested, what bees do in winter, and even why they sometimes gather outside a hive. At the same time, Sophie is learning how to speak in front of her class, make and lose a friend, respect rules, and keep trying when she feels uncertain. The seasonal structure gives the story a pleasing rhythm, while Sophie’s recurring “Doodle Notes” make the bee facts feel like discoveries she’s collecting.
The relationship between Sophie and Grandpa is the heart of the children’s book. Their time together has a lived-in coziness to it, with tea, honey, fires, shopping trips, painting hive boxes, snowy walks, and Grandpa’s familiar scent of coffee, Old Spice, grass, smoke, or sunshine changing slightly with the seasons. Sophie also feels like a child with an actual inner life. She worries that she won’t be good enough during school presentations, wonders whether other children will accept her, breaks a rule even though she knows better, and struggles when Catalina moves away without saying goodbye. The bee colony often becomes a way for Sophie to think through those feelings. The queen’s need to be accepted connects naturally with Sophie’s decision to befriend Catalina, while the idea that bees live and work together helps her make sense of friendship, separation, and loneliness.
There’s also more emotional weight here than the cheerful beekeeping premise might suggest. Catalina’s family troubles, Sophie’s memories of her father’s death, her fear of public speaking, and the consequences of sneaking out at night give the story real stakes. I especially liked that Grandpa usually teaches by asking questions, demonstrating something, or letting Sophie arrive at an answer herself. When she breaks her promise and secretly visits the hives at night, he follows through on the rules and sends her home early, yet their relationship remains loving. Later, Sophie understands those rules as part of caring for one another. That combination of affection, consequences, curiosity, and second chances gives the book a sturdy emotional center.
The illustrations use soft, colorful, storybook-style imagery to make Sophie, Grandpa, Catalina, the cabin, and the hives feel immediately approachable. Some of the strongest pictures are also closely tied to memorable moments, such as Sophie and Grandpa examining the queen, Sophie and Catalina lying among white flowers, the girls sneaking toward the hives under a huge moon, and Sophie and Grandpa building a snow bee. The bright painted hives and warm countryside scenes reinforce Sophie’s love of color and drawing, while the winter images shift into quieter whites and blues without losing that sense of warmth. Together, the illustrations and the hands-on bee facts make Sophie Moon and the Honeybees feel like a children’s book meant to spark curiosity as much as tell a story, with friendship, family, art, and the natural world all buzzing around the same hive.
Pages: 54 | ASIN: B0GXWQGZ26
Book 5 – Rosalind Franklin’s DNA Discovery: Dr. K’s Portal Through Time
Rosalind Franklin’s DNA Discovery, the fifth book in Dr. Katherine E. A. Korkidis’s Dr. K’s Portal Through Time series, blends time-travel adventure with an introduction to molecular biology. Jennifer and Daniel journey to 1950s London, where Rosalind Franklin guides them through her laboratory work, the creation of X-ray diffraction images, and the evidence behind DNA’s double-helix structure. Their visit later expands to Franklin’s research on viruses, giving readers a broader picture of her scientific career and influence.
The science is presented patiently and in concrete terms. DNA becomes a twisted ladder, diffraction patterns become clues written in light, and model-building turns an invisible molecule into something children can picture. Ideas such as base pairing, replication, hydration, and the connection between structure and function appear several times, creating a steady instructional rhythm. The resource section and science-primer links also make the book especially practical for classroom lessons or further exploration at home.
Franklin emerges as precise, resilient, and deeply committed to evidence. The book pays close attention to her working methods, showing discovery as a process of preparing samples, controlling conditions, recording results, and revising interpretations. It also addresses the prejudice Franklin faced and the delayed recognition of her contributions in clear, age-appropriate language. Much of the story unfolds through explanatory dialogue, so the experience often feels like joining an unusually memorable science lesson with a warm adventure wrapped around it.
I’d recommend Rosalind Franklin’s DNA Discovery to curious upper-elementary and middle-grade readers, particularly children who enjoy biology, experiments, or stories about overlooked figures in history. Parents and teachers looking for an accessible bridge between scientific concepts and character education will also find plenty to discuss, from research ethics and collaboration to perseverance and fair recognition. It’s a thoughtful invitation to see science as both a body of knowledge and a human pursuit shaped by patience, integrity, and curiosity.
Pages: 146 | ASIN : B0H9ZSBQ6F
Love, Humor, and Hope
The Little Book of Emmy is a heartwarming story of a tiny blind dog’s journey from danger and hardship to rescue, friendship, and a loving forever home. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It’s a real story based on reality and our experience with Emmy. We thought she was an extraordinary personality and her story needed to be told.
How did you balance the difficult moments of rescue and loss with the book’s warmth and hope?
The balance really came from Emmy herself. She had every reason to be fearful or defeated, but that simply wasn’t who she was. She was joyful, trusting, curious, and incredibly resilient. I tried to let her spirit guide every creative decision in the book. Even when the story moves through rescue, uncertainty, and loss, Emmy’s personality keeps bringing us back to love, humor, and hope. In that sense, the balance wasn’t something I had to manufacture. It grew naturally out of who Emmy was.
What do you hope children understand about animals with disabilities after meeting Emmy?
I hope children understand that being different doesn’t mean being less. Emmy couldn’t see, but she still found her way through the world with curiosity, courage, and a lot of joy. She loved, played, trusted, and connected with people just like any other dog. I’d love for children to come away from her story feeling more compassion for animals with disabilities—and maybe for anyone who experiences the world a little differently.
How do you hope the book influences the way families think about rescue animals?
I hope the book helps families see rescue animals for who they can become, not just for what they’ve been through. Many of them arrive carrying fear, uncertainty, or physical challenges, but they also bring an incredible capacity for trust, affection, and joy. Emmy taught me that giving an animal a second chance can change both lives—the animal’s and the family’s. If her story encourages even one family to look at a rescue animal with a little more patience, compassion, and possibility, that would mean a great deal to me.
Author Links: Website
My (2D Shape) Family
My 2D Shape Family, by Lisa M. Weckbacher, turns an introductory geometry lesson into a friendly family gathering. Circle serves as the narrator, welcoming readers and introducing relatives that range from Oval and Triangle to less familiar figures such as Heptagon, Nonagon, and Decagon. The family idea gives this children’s book a warm structure while reinforcing its central message: shapes can share important qualities and still look quite different from one another.
The book builds understanding through familiar objects, thoughtful comparisons, and plenty of direct questions. Children identify shapes in a button, pizza slice, checkerboard, soccer ball, and honeycomb before meeting the corresponding character. They’re also invited to trace Circle, measure width, count sides, and consider why some shapes look different when turned or tilted. These prompts make the picture book especially well suited to reading aloud, since an adult can pause for predictions, counting, and conversation.
Katrina Snyder’s illustrations give each shape its own lively personality. The characters have expressive faces, thin arms and legs, and little visual details that help distinguish them without distracting from their geometry. Bright colors, generous white space, and clearly drawn everyday objects keep the pages easy to follow. The illustrations are particularly effective when shapes are rotated, stretched, or placed beside similar family members, allowing readers to see the differences the text is describing.
There’s an impressive amount of material here, from the meaning of two-dimensional to length, width, curves, sides, points, and orientation. Even the nine-sided and ten-sided shapes receive memorable introductions, giving children vocabulary they may not encounter in many early shape books. The closing reference pages gather the whole family in one place, making it easy to review what readers have learned. With its chatty narrator and hands-on questions, My 2D Shape Family offers a playful, substantial introduction to recognizing and comparing geometric shapes.
Pages: 38 | ASIN : B0H9VR4LBM
