The Beeman - Hardcover

Krebs, Laurie; Iwai, Melissa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0792272242 ISBN 13: 9780792272243

Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books, 2002

Synopsis

Through rhyming text and warm, expressive paintings, a child describes the work her Grandpa does to take care of honeybees and harvest the honey they make.

About this title

Reviews

reSchool-Grade 2-A warm, rhyming text about a relationship more than a description of a job. From the cover portrait of a slightly bemused gentleman zipped in a protective jacket to the final illustration of the man and his granddaughter enjoying homemade muffins with fresh honey, readers are introduced to the steps and the equipment involved in caring for the hive and gathering honey. Iwai's large, colorful acrylic illustrations make the setting and characters real and immediate; listeners may feel as though they are working right along with the girl and her grandfather. Bits and pieces of information are shared rather than written as complete explanations. For example, "Here is the smoker/that quiets the bees," gives no clue as to how or why. "Here are his gloves/made of cotton and leather,/protecting his hands/in all kinds of weather" makes no mention of potential stings. Those who want to understand the life of a bee would be better served by Deborah Heiligman's Honeybees (National Geographic, 2002). Krebs's book is a simple, appealing look at one beekeeping season.
Edith Ching, St. Albans School, Mt. St. Alban, Washington, DC
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

A girl visits her beekeeping grandfather in The Beeman by Laurie Krebs, illus. by Melissa Iwai. The text-modeled after "The House That Jack Built"-introduces beekeeping equipment and hive hierarchy, and explains the harvesting of honey ("Here are the house bees/ with swift-moving wings/ that dry up the nectar/ a worker bee brings"). Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

PreS-Gr. 2. Beeman takes his granddaughter to his hives, describes the types of bees there, and shows how he extracts the honey. He gives some back to the bees, then takes the rest inside to enjoy on the muffins Grandma bakes. Written from the child's point of view, the first-person text uses the rhyme scheme and rhythm familiar from "This Is the House That Jack Built" but without the cumulative refrain. The verse rolls along gracefully, giving young children a basic introduction to bees and the beekeeping process. Krebs creates a series of appealing, naive paintings of two types: small pictures that show details such as tools and types of bees and larger pictures that focus on Beeman and his granddaughter. The impressionistic paintings of trees not only create beautiful backdrops but also indicate the passage of time through the change of seasons. Teachers looking for picture books that correlate with the science curriculum will find this an attractive choice. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0792272242
• ISBN 13: 9780792272243
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32