Bee Dance

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

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"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