The Beekeepers - Hardcover

High, Linda Oatman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 156397486X ISBN 13: 9781563974861

Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, 1998

Synopsis

A beekeeper and his granddaughter share a special bond as they help a swarm of bees move into a new hive in a wonderfully poetic and beautifully illustrated picture book.

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Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 1AA beautifully descriptive story about a girl and her grandfather and the passing of a legacy to be a keeper of bees. The soft oil paintings set the tone of a sunny springtime afternoon when the man allows his granddaughter to bring down the swarm for the first time. "What if they don't come," she asks, "trembling." "They'll come," grandfather says. They do, making both beekeepers proud and leaving them to reminisce about other times and the honey harvest. The story is simple and the illustrations glow, leaving readers with a warm feeling of a shared experience.AEvelyn Butrico, Cold Spring Harbor Library, Greenlawn, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Readers will be buzzing with curiosity after turning the pages of this quietly suspenseful story of a girl who helps her grandfather keep bees and harvest their honey. Decked out in the requisite but unearthly-looking protective gear, the beekeepers head to the hives in the bee yard. When some of the bees decide to swarm, quick thinking and calm movements save the day-and the hives. High's (A Christmas Star) spare, poetic descriptions make it easy to imagine a dewy spring morning on the farm. In his picture book debut, Chayka's oil paintings, built up in broad brush strokes, are appropriately steeped in the golden hues of sunshine and honey. The gentle lighting is a key element: because the beekeepers' veils obscure most facial expressions, the artist resourcefully deploys color and composition to set the mood. Children unfamiliar with this type of farming will be fascinated by such equipment as a bee smoker and the box-like hives where the bees build their honeycombs. But most of all, youngsters will marvel at the central characters as they emerge unscathed from a swarm of creatures most people have been taught to fear. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Honey-colored light pours down upon a young narrator and her grandfather as they climb into their heavy coveralls and walk during a spring morning to the bee yard. Checking the hives amid swirls of bees carrying multi-colored pods of gathered pollen, the girl visualizes the snow-white wax inside and recalls ``the sweet smell of spun honey,'' then has a nervous moment when her grandfather spots a new swarm clustered on a bough and invites her to capture it. Despite some anxiety, the transfer to an empty hive goes smoothly, and on the way back she is promised the first honey chunk of the season. Chayka scatters roughly life-sized bees and depictions of beekeepers' tools in the generous margins around the text, but his full-page oil paintings are more about the pleasure of sharing outdoor work on a beautiful day than the specific techniques of beekeeping. An idyllic episode, as comforting as the bees' sweet product. (Picture book. 6-8) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5^-7. The rich, golden color of honey saturates the illustrations in this quiet book about a young girl and her beloved grandfather tending bees. The child describes how the pair ready themselves in coveralls, gloves, and hats; how they use the bee smoker to quiet the insects; and how the little girl overcomes her prickling fear to safely dislodge a swarm, a task usually reserved for her grandfather. At the heart of the story is the child's personal triumph, sweet as honey. Children will surely want more information about bees than Oatman's brief picture-book encounter presents. There's plenty available, including Sylvia Johnson's excellent 1994 book A Beekeeper's Year and Charles Micucci's informative The Life and Times of the Honeybee (1995). Stephanie Zvirin

Edition details

• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 156397486X
• ISBN 13: 9781563974861
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32