Recommended for Youth
Titles for Readers of all ages
The Honey Bus Companion Books for Youth
Books for pre-K to grade 2:
The Bee Book. Charlotte Milner, 2018. A fairly complete introduction to the honeybee, including an explanation of why they are important and what our world would look like without them.
Bee Dance. Rick Chrustowski, 2015. Describes honeybee communication. Illustrates the ‘waggle dance’.
Bee & Me. Alison Jay, 2017. A wordless picture book about a girl who travels with a honeybee and discovers the need for conservation.
Birds, Bees and Butterflies ABCs: How They Help Our Food to Grow. Heather Conrad, 2016.
Bizzy Mizz Lizzie. David Shannon, 2017. Silly story about a bee who goes to school. She gets “straight B’s”, of course!
Buzz. Eileen Spinelli, 2010. A bee reads in the newspaper that bees can’t fly, and gets discouraged.
¿Cómo se Hace la Miel? Grace Hansen, 2019. How is honey made?
Follow that Bee! A First Book of Bees in the City. Scot Ritchie, 2019.
Give Bees a Chance. Bethany Barton, 2017. Narrator tries to convince a friend with bee phobia that honeybees are our friends.
Jam and Honey. Melita Morales, 2011. A girl learns to coexist peacefully with a honeybee in her garden.
The King of Bees. Lester Laminack, 2018. Henry wants to help his aunt, a beekeeper.
Little Bea. Daniel Roode, 2011. Follow little Bea as she goes about her day.
Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive / El Autobus Mágico Dentro de una Colmena. Joanna Cole, 1998. Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a field trip to a beehive in her magic school bus.
Please Please the Bees. Gerald Kelley, 2017. Benedict the bear, a creature of habit consuming 3 jars of honey a day, finds when the bees go on strike he must amend his ways or risk losing his sweet life.
These Bees Count! Alison Formento, 2012. Visit a honeybee farm and learn how bees communicate.
The Very Greedy Bee. Steve Smallman, 2007. A bee who eats too much gets in trouble.
You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Bees! Alex Woolf, 2017. Part of the humorous but informative “You wouldn’t want to…” series.
Bee Kidpacks – collection of bee-themed materials in a backpack.
Books for grades 3-7:
Bees In the City. Andrea Cheng, 2018. A love letter to the Parisian way of life and the beauty of bees.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 1964. Dahl,
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Jacqueline Kelly, 2009. A young girl in Texas learns botany from her grandfather who just happens to know Charles Darwin.
Honeybees and Frenemies. Kristi Wientge, 2019. Summer for 12 year old Flor is going to be working at her parents’ store and volunteering with a beekeeper.
Rooting for Rafael Rosales. Kurtis Scaletta, 2018. Rafael has dreams to someday play Major League Baseball. Maya has worries, especially about bees dying all over the world. In their own ways, Maya and Rafael search for hope and face difficult choices.
Sweet Peas and Honey Bees. Jenny Meyerhoff, 2016. Anna learns that bees are in danger due to pesticide use and tries to alert others to the problem.
Or check out some cool videos:
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9zZ48jJZyk Kids Learn Why Bees are Awesome. National Geographic. 3 min.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBVVLTz4xuQ Pollinators and our Gardens. Burpee Gardens (the seed company). 3 min.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-dtitGeyLk Maya the Bee, adaptation of a folktale that explains how bees work. 15 min.
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/little-bees-music-video-betty-and-the-turnips
Books for pre-K to grade 2:
The Bee Book. Charlotte Milner, 2018. A fairly complete introduction to the honeybee, including an explanation of why they are important and what our world would look like without them.
Bee Dance. Rick Chrustowski, 2015. Describes honeybee communication. Illustrates the ‘waggle dance’.
Bee & Me. Alison Jay, 2017. A wordless picture book about a girl who travels with a honeybee and discovers the need for conservation.
Birds, Bees and Butterflies ABCs: How They Help Our Food to Grow. Heather Conrad, 2016.
Bizzy Mizz Lizzie. David Shannon, 2017. Silly story about a bee who goes to school. She gets “straight B’s”, of course!
Buzz. Eileen Spinelli, 2010. A bee reads in the newspaper that bees can’t fly, and gets discouraged.
¿Cómo se Hace la Miel? Grace Hansen, 2019. How is honey made?
Follow that Bee! A First Book of Bees in the City. Scot Ritchie, 2019.
Give Bees a Chance. Bethany Barton, 2017. Narrator tries to convince a friend with bee phobia that honeybees are our friends.
Jam and Honey. Melita Morales, 2011. A girl learns to coexist peacefully with a honeybee in her garden.
The King of Bees. Lester Laminack, 2018. Henry wants to help his aunt, a beekeeper.
Little Bea. Daniel Roode, 2011. Follow little Bea as she goes about her day.
Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive / El Autobus Mágico Dentro de una Colmena. Joanna Cole, 1998. Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a field trip to a beehive in her magic school bus.
Please Please the Bees. Gerald Kelley, 2017. Benedict the bear, a creature of habit consuming 3 jars of honey a day, finds when the bees go on strike he must amend his ways or risk losing his sweet life.
These Bees Count! Alison Formento, 2012. Visit a honeybee farm and learn how bees communicate.
The Very Greedy Bee. Steve Smallman, 2007. A bee who eats too much gets in trouble.
You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Bees! Alex Woolf, 2017. Part of the humorous but informative “You wouldn’t want to…” series.
Bee Kidpacks – collection of bee-themed materials in a backpack.
Books for grades 3-7:
Bees In the City. Andrea Cheng, 2018. A love letter to the Parisian way of life and the beauty of bees.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 1964. Dahl,
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Jacqueline Kelly, 2009. A young girl in Texas learns botany from her grandfather who just happens to know Charles Darwin.
Honeybees and Frenemies. Kristi Wientge, 2019. Summer for 12 year old Flor is going to be working at her parents’ store and volunteering with a beekeeper.
Rooting for Rafael Rosales. Kurtis Scaletta, 2018. Rafael has dreams to someday play Major League Baseball. Maya has worries, especially about bees dying all over the world. In their own ways, Maya and Rafael search for hope and face difficult choices.
Sweet Peas and Honey Bees. Jenny Meyerhoff, 2016. Anna learns that bees are in danger due to pesticide use and tries to alert others to the problem.
Or check out some cool videos:
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9zZ48jJZyk Kids Learn Why Bees are Awesome. National Geographic. 3 min.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBVVLTz4xuQ Pollinators and our Gardens. Burpee Gardens (the seed company). 3 min.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-dtitGeyLk Maya the Bee, adaptation of a folktale that explains how bees work. 15 min.
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/little-bees-music-video-betty-and-the-turnips
