What If There Were No Bees?: A Book About the Grassland Ecosystem

by Suzanne Slade, Carol Schwartz (Illustrator)

Overview

Grassland ecosystems can be found on nearly every continent. Countless animals and plants live in them. So what difference could the loss of one animal species make? Follow the chain reaction, and discover how important honey bees are.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781404863941
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	07/01/2010
Series:	Food Chain Reactions
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	83,871
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	890L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Suzanne Slade is the author of 100 books for children, including many titles on science topics. Suzanne holds a Mechanical Engineering degree, and has worked on Delta IV rockets and car braking systems before beginning her writing career. She lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

The reader learns how these insects are considered a keystone species because without them many other species would likely become extinct.

"What's the Big Deal About Bees?" Science & Children

This bug’s eye view of life as a grasslands honeybee illustrates the paramount role they play in an ecosystem, as pollinators of wildflowers and crops and sources of food for creatures higher up in the food chain. As many Vegbooks readers may know, there has been a significant decline in bee populations over the last four years, and the forecast isn’t promising, even with increased efforts to intensely study and improve their lot. What I appreciate most in this nonfiction work are the vivid scenes generated through a mix of traditional illustration, gouache, airbrush, and digital methods. As the serious repercussions of a world without bees emerge in the text, the corresponding landscapes bring attention to blackened silhouettes of the plant and animal species that would negatively be affected. Imagine grasslands with bears hungry for honey, without spring blooms or smaller rodents scurrying about, and no bountiful berries for us humans to savor. I appreciate that author Suzanna Slade did not broach the subject of humans eating honey since such a sweetener is reaped using quite inhumane tactics, as many vegans are fully aware. Ages 4-8. http://vegbooks.org/index.php/2010/11/09/what-if-there-were-no-bees/

Vegbooks Blog

The Bee Movie might have educated children on the ecosystem and the role the bees play in the food chain, but this book takes it one step further to explain the interdependency and the consequences of a world without bees. And on the last page … other grassland animals in danger: masked bobwhite, Utah prairie dog, and prairie chicken.

Pragmatic Mom