At Growing with Science, we are featuring the picture book Begin with a Bee by Liza Ketchum, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, and Phyllis Root, illustrated by Claudia McGehee.
The three authors follow a single rusty-patched bumble bee queen through her life, starting with the bee overwintering in a hole under the ground.
“What else waits all winter under the ground?”
Seeds and roots of plants! By explaining that plants are also important for the bee’s survival by supplying food, young reader’s learn how different living things depend on each other.
The text proceeds in a question-and-answer format. In the spring:
Where will she nest?
It turns out that as well as overwintering, bumble bee queens also nest in the ground. We learn about how the queen feeds her offspring and how they change and grow. One two-page spread shows all the stages the larvae and pupae go through to become bumble bee workers.
Throughout the summer and into fall the bumble bees gather nectar and pollen from flowers. In the process, the bees pollinate many plants so they can produce the seeds that grow into next year’s plants.
Before we know it, it is winter again and another bumble bee queen rests in the ground, waiting for spring.
The back matter rocks. The rusty-patched bumble bee page includes facts like that it was the first bee species to go on the endangered species list. The next page lists “Ten things we can all do to help.”
Claudia McGehee’s scratchboard illustrations are incredible. The shapes, textures, and the deep black lines add so much interest to every page. There’s so much to see and explore.
Begin with a Bee is a picture book that will appeal to nature lovers of all ages. Investigate a copy today!
And if you are as excited about the book as wee are, stop by Growing with Science for a bunch of related activity suggestions.
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