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
“A honeybee scout finds a nectar-rich prairie and returns to the hive to tell her sisters . . . . A tiny but remarkable one-day adventure that may well ignite entomological excitement in its readers.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Through minimal language and large, colorful spreads, a bee is depicted finding a prairie full of flowers, returning to the hive, and performing a dance that will indicate the distance and location of pollen to the other worker bees. A concluding page provides more in-depth information about the dance and about the beehives. . . . A good nonfiction read-aloud option; suitable for science and nature units.” —School Library Journal
“Accurate vocabulary defined within the illustrations makes this especially accessible for the youngest readers. . . . A solid addition to elementary and preschool libraries.” —Kirkus Reviews on Big Brown Bat
“This finely crafted presentation of fact and artwork exemplifies the best in informational literature.” —School Library Journal on Blue Sky Bluebird
“Chrustowski shows a fine-tuned sense of what interests children, the ability to express it in simple words, and a talent for illustrating animals in a way that is both accurate and appealing.” —Booklist on Blue Sky Bluebird
03/01/2015
PreS-Gr 1—This early science picture book focuses on honeybees' fascinating ability to communicate with one another about the whereabouts of food sources. Through minimal language and large, colorful spreads, a bee is depicted finding a prairie full of flowers, returning to the hive, and performing a dance that will indicate the distance and location of pollen to the other worker bees. A concluding page provides more in-depth information about the dance and about the beehives. Rendered in collage with pastel pencil illustrations in tones of mustard, brown, and green, the illustrations portray the interior of a hive and of the stores within, as well as the fields of flowers outside. While attractive, the images do not always clarify the wording. On one spread, the subjects are described as having a "bendy-straw tongue," but the accompanying illustration shows only a bee perched on a flower, with no protruding tongue. VERDICT A good nonfiction read-aloud option; suitable for science and nature units.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, formerly at Trinity-Pawling School, Pawling, NY
2015-03-03
A honeybee scout finds a nectar-rich prairie and returns to the hive to tell her sisters. Brilliant colors capture readers right away, the morning sky honey yellow and the grass and foliage bright green. The prairie is a riot of color and variety—black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers, bee balm, and more. The scout heads back to the hive for the titular dance, diagrammed against the comb. Chrustowski's simple language, appropriate for preschoolers and early-elementary children, captures the basics of the waggle dance in broad gestures: it describes a figure eight; its length indicates distance. Further detail is provided in an author's note. Cut-paper collage and colored pencils visually define bees, flowers, and hive boxes, both inside and out. The dance acts as the story's hinge; afterward a whole squadron of forager bees heads back to the prairie to gather nectar and pollen in another glut of color. 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 despite the depiction of a man-made hive; the emphasis is on bee communication and behavior, not beekeeping or protection, though respect for the insects is implicit. A tiny but remarkable one-day adventure that may well ignite entomological excitement in its readers. (Informational picture book. 3-7)
