Friday, June 19, 2015

Bee Dancing

Bee Dance
by Rick Chrustowski
32 pages; ages 4-8
Henry Holt & Co, 2015

This seems like a perfect book to end National Pollinator Week - and it's hot off the press. Written with a second-person point of view, it begins:

When sunlight warms your honeybee wings, off you go on flower patrol!

So begins a day of adventure - and work - for this honey bee flying over a prairie. Simple language allows young readers (and listeners) to join the bee as she returns to the hive and begins the waggle dance. The description is so good that you could do the waggle dance yourself.

The illustrations are multi-media: collage with pastel pencil - and from a bee's point of view... or maybe a beetle's point of view. From below, the stems and leaves seem huge, flowers towering above, bees coming in for a landing.

At the back there's an info-packed page that discusses why honey bees dance. If you're looking for a book about honey bees for older readers, check out this post.

If you want to get involved in citizen science projects that involve pollinators, click here.

Learn how to create pollinator-friendly yards here. And if you're looking for some hands-on bee science, check out last week's bee-watching activities.

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Advanced review copy from the publisher.


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