Beholding Bee by Kimberly Newton Fusco

Title: Beholding Bee

Author: Kimberly Newton Fusco

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 107760

Description:  In 1942, when life turns sour at the carnival that has always been her home, eleven-year-old Bee takes her dog, Peabody, and piglet, Cordelia, and sets out to find a real home, aided by two women only Bee and her pets can see.

Rubric Rating: Level 3 - Laud It

Why I Read It: Interesting title and write up

Notes: This book was a very slow start for me.  Bee, short for Beatrice, has been an orphan since the age of four.  Since the death of her parents in a car accident she has been living and working with Pauline in Ellis’ traveling circus.  Bee is now eleven years old and while she only works in the hotdog stand Ellis wants to put her in the show because of her “diamond”.  The port wine stain birthmark that is on her face. Her diamond draws the attention of everyone who see her so Bee uses her hair as a shield to protect herself from prying eyes.  But when a couple of boys accost her, Bobby another worker at the circus, teaches Bee how to run. Because if she has a goal and knows how to get there she will feel proud of herself.  Unfortunately, Pauline becomes involved with another member of the circus and leaves Bee behind to fend for herself. When Ellis discovers this he threatens to get rid of Bee and the mutt dog she has adopted.  So she runs away. Throughout her life Bee has seen a lady in an ‘orange flappy hat’. This lady helps lead Bee to safety and the home she has been imagining all her life. Mrs. Swift and Mrs. Potter help Bee, get her enrolled in school, and teach her about herself and her family.  But Bee is the only one who can see her “aunts”. And she realizes she’s more connected to this home than she imagines. When a busybody neighbour and bullies at school make things difficult for Bee, her friend Ruth Ellen’s mom is there to help. Bee learns to find the strength within and let her diamond shine.   While the story had a very slow beginning I did find myself becoming invested in Bee’s character. She is a resourceful, smart, but shy girl who is used to hiding herself away. Pauline is kind toward Bee but can’t seem to see beyond appearances with men, falling for Arthur who looks and smells good, rather than Bobby who wears thick glasses and smells of pigs.  The ghostly aunts help Bee discover herself and the strength of the women in her family. And Ruth Ellen, who really sees Bee as a kindred spirit invites her into her family with an open-heart as does her mother. Parallels can be drawn between Bee and Francine – they are both left, they are both concerned about appearances – Bee about her diamond and Francine about her dress.  Until the characters are able to look beyond appearances there can’t be any understanding and I think this is the lesson Bee finally learns while telling Pauline about Bobby. The setting for this story takes place during WWII which I also thought was interesting because you can have some really good discussions about what was happening at home during this time. And how the absences of fathers/parents play a role in this novel.   I also found Bee’s treatment of the animals interesting because she can see beyond their faults – Cordelia the pig being the runt of the litter, and her dog Peabody missing it’s tail. She understands that despite these defects they are wonderful animals. She just needs to see herself the same way.

Favourite Passages:

• Pauline says keep trying because you never know how things will turn out. Life is just full of surprises. (Page 6)
• He points at me.  I know what they are up to. I pull my hair over my face like a curtain and turn away. I give them nothing to look at. (Page 36)
• I know you can do it. But all you’re telling me is you can’t, you can’t, you can’t. But you can, Bee. You have to want to get better. You have to look for your own finish line and tell yourself you will cross it, even with Pauline gone, and you have to keep trying and trying and you will find the strength deep inside yourself, and when you find it, you will be proud, really, really proud.  When you have a goal like that, you will get better, I promise. (Page 79)
• You start to wonder about folks who are always trying to make you come around to their way of thinking, like they are the only ones who know the true way about things. (Page 206)
• Without my curtain, I am a window with the light pouring through. (Page 228)
• Sometimes she makes me awful mad. I know she has it wrong. I know what maters is what’s underneath. (Page 327)

Recommended Readers: Grade 3 and up.  Good Curriculum Study Selection. 

Themes: Birthmarks, Being/Keeping/Staying Hidden, Acceptance, Circus, Family, Orphans, Relationships, Ghosts, Self-Esteem

Cross-Genre Links:
Music: Diamonds by Rihanna
Book/Movie: Freak the Mighty
Websearch: Birthmarks / Port Wine Stains
Websearch: Barnum and Bailey Circus
Movie: The Greatest Showman
Social Studies/History: School Children in Wartime
Websearch: Fortune Telling

Inquiries and Activities:

• Discuss appearances in this novel.   
• Create a chart listing some of the characters, their physical (outward) traits and their character (inward) traits – Ex. Bee, Pauline, Bobby, Ellis, Arthur, Ruth Ellen, Aunt Swift, Aunt Potter, Francine.   You can also discuss the animals – Cordelia and Peabody.
• Why is Bea the only person able to see the aunts? Who are they and how are they related to Bea? How are Bee and her mother alike? How are they both hidden and why? 
• Bee is put in a special class when she joins school where children with physical or behavioural issues are segregated from the rest of the school. Is this good or bad for the children in the class and those in the rest of the school?  Have a debate arguing for or against separate classes.
• Discuss the different types of families in this novel. Why are so many of the men absent?
• How could this time in history have been difficult for women and children?
• “Don’t judge a book by its cover” talk about some of the ways people get judged on their appearance. 
• Bee calls her birthmark a diamond. Discuss how her birthmark and a diamond might be related. Look beyond shape.
• "You start to wonder about folks who are always trying to make you come around to their way of thinking, like they are the only ones who know the true way about things.” (Page 206)  How is persuasion used, and why do people try to get others "on side".  How is this used in politics and propoganda?  (Think about the setting in wartime and strategies used by the media today)
• What does the Nine of Spades mean in fortune telling.