Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera

"Tongues lick. Antennae touch." The brief but complex life of a Apis Mellifera—a worker honeybee—is explored with depth in this richly detailed picture book. Fleming uses lyrical language to describe just how jam-packed Apis's short life is—her jobs include cleaning the nursery, feeding "grub-like larvae," tending the queen, building comb, food handling, and guarding the hive. "At last, on the twenty-fifth day of her life... she leaps from the nest and... FLIES!" Apis lives only 10 days more: "She has visited thirty-thousand flowers. She has collected enough nectar to make one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey." Though "Apis stills," Fleming renders her humble life a mesmerizing wonder. Rohmann's realistic oil-on-paper illustrations artfully capture close-up details such as the glisten of transparent wings and the fine hairs covering a bee's body. An ending schematic identifies bee body parts, while supplemental materials offer more facts and details about helping the insects. Ages 6-9. (Feb.)

K-Gr 4—Prior to the title page, two full-page close-ups show a honeybee emerging from her wax cell. The free verse poem that runs through the entire book helps readers envision the start of this life cycle. The text and the accompanying illustrations work together masterfully. The vocabulary is precise and razor sharp: each word makes an impact, adding a crucial detail. The language also generates and sustains curiosity. Early on in the narrative, Fleming wonders if the honeybee is ready to fly, but the answer is "not yet." Other jobs come first—cleaning, nursing, queen tending, comb building, food handling, and guarding. The bee finally takes flight "on the twenty-fifth day of her life." It is worth the wait. Rohmann's illustrations make a dramatic transition. The previous oil-on-paper illustrations are amazingly detailed, large, and easy to examine. The warm colors of the hive (brown, black, yellow) show a safe, secure environment. But as Apis Mellifera peers out from the hive, the perspective radically changes, and a four-page gatefold of a sunny meadow with a field of flowers is visible. Readers follow the insect through each of her jobs until her end, where a new honeybee takes her place. It's an impressive cycle. VERDICT This book is nonfiction at its best—a combination of beautifully crafted language and astonishing close-up illustrations. Fleming displays admiration for honeybees and conveys enormous respect for their work.—Myra Zarnowski, City University of New York