In the Trees, Honey Bees by Lori Mortensen

In the Trees, Honey Bees by Lori Mortensen

My Thoughts:

Here’s the truth: I’m prejudiced against small presses. Why? I’ve been given a lot of freebies from small publishers. For the most part, there is a reason why a book is only published by a small press; big presses aren’t impressed and the book is passed on.

So I anticipated that this book would be a bust. Not so. This one is a keeper. Brilliant illustrations. Terse yet action filled text. Additional information provided for those who want to know more. A nice bibliography.

And the children loved it. Ten, they shouted, when I asked for ratings, and I had to remind them that five was a top score.

I can’t wait to share this with teachers and other kids. It will be checked out. A lot.

A Sample:

“Lots of food.
Hungry brood.
(bottom of page) Three days after the queen lays an egg, it hatches into a hungry larva. Nurse bees feed it a rich supply of food from glands in their heads. During its egg and larva stages, nurse bees will feed it more than 100,000 times.”

Children’s Comments:

Aryn, 6, said, "I liked the rhyme. I liked the pictures. I liked how the story went with the pictures."
Kaylin, 6, said, "I liked the color of the pictures."
Joaquin, 6, said, "I liked the part where the bees were in the hive."
Stevie, 6, said, "I liked how everything was so close."

Children’s Ratings: 5, 5, 5, 5