The Happy Bee by Ian Beck is a quieter, more reflective tale. With his enchanting mellifluous watercolour technique, Beck gives us a childs eye view of a lavish array of garden flowers as, one by one, they are visited by a bee. Bees can be scary, but not this one; although the flowers are realistically painted, Beck has wisely made the bee a gentle, unthreatening roly-poly character with an innocent smile and impeccable manners who politely greets all the flowers by name, and hovers patiently while the artist zooms in to explore the very different qualities of each bloom the subtle, secret folds of the rose, the forthright simplicity of the daisy, the racy but ephemeral flamboyance of the poppies and the exotic allure of the lilies with their creamy lolling tongues.