written and illustrated by Rick Chrustowski
Henry Holt & Company, 2015
ISBN 978-0805099195
A honeybee searches for nectar, then returns to the hive to tell the other bees. She does a waggle dance, moving in a special figure-eight pattern to share the location of the foodsource with her hivemates. With vivid and active images, Rick Chrustowski brings these amazing bees to life!
Awards and Recognition
CCBC Choices 2016
Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Honor Book
Wisconsin Library Association Outstanding Books of 2016
Here’s the buzz:
“Simple but information packed, the text reads aloud well. The handsome, large-scale illustrations—cut-paper collages highlighted with drawn elements—make this book a terrific classroom read-aloud choice for units on bees or prairies.”
—Booklist
“Brilliant colors capture readers right away….The use of the second person invites children to identify first with the scout bee and then the foragers, a device that's reinforced by frequent close-ups. The tale is pleasingly bee-focused … A tiny but remarkable one-day adventure that may well ignite entomological excitement in its readers.”
—Kirkus
“VERDICT A good nonfiction read-aloud option; suitable for science and nature units.”
—School Library Journal
“I’m all a buzz (pun intended) about the cut paper collage pictures, which are full of details enhanced with pastel pencils. Just think about the time it must have taken author/illustrator Rick Chrustowski to create all those bees out of tiny pieces of intricately cut paper and those multi-hued flowers, grass, and leaves. Especially pay attention to the different layouts, including one as if you were an ant on the prairie watching the swarm of bees approach the flowers towering over you like fighter pilots at Pearl Harbor. Although this is located in nonfiction, the information is succinct enough and short enough to share with the story time crowd, especially if you pair with action movements. Don’t be afraid to shake your booty just like a bee. An author’s note provides further detail about the documented bee dance, and thanks a Cornell University professor for vetting the text. Bee-autiful!”
