The Bee Book; Charlotte Milner

What’s the buzz about bees? Well it turns out that there is a lot to get excited about it when it comes to bees and this superb non-fiction book from Charlotte Milner will amaze and astound with its incredible facts and wonderful appreciation of the buzzy little insects.

Bees, we’ve all heard them buzzing around but what’s the big deal with them? Older than some dinosaurs having been around on Earth for over 100 million years, bees are quite the insect. Honey bees are considered nature’s hardest worker and it's hard to argue when their days involve honey making, pollinating, dancing, cleaning, nursing, building, guarding and foraging. Bees are brilliant and it’s time for everyone to be buzzing about them…

Charlotte Milner’s guided tour of the world of these often misunderstood little insects is bee-rilliant, bee-autiful and creates a buzz about bees. Packed with accessible bite-sized chunks of information and vibrant artwork, it is a superb introduction to bees, their amazing lives and their essential role in the ecosystem.

Beautifully presented, fact-filled and instantly appealing, readers will quickly find themselves right at the heart of the wonderful world of bees as Milner carefully guides them through various topics including; species, anatomy, location, honey, pollination, life cycle, predators, threats and ideas for helping protect the bees. Scientific terms are gently introduced and numbered illustrations, simple flow diagrams and clever examples make everything understandable for the young reader; ’85,000km of flying (that’s one and a half times around the world)’ - it is these extra little touches that open up the big and sometimes complicated ideas to children.

Pages are a hive of activity and varying layouts keep things fresh making it an absolute joy to read, I guarantee that as readers venture from one page to the next their minds will be kept as busy as a bee. This fabulous non-fiction read will definitely help children to appreciate bees, to understand their plight and will encourage future generations of bee advocates to do what they can to help - some brilliant ideas from planting bee friendly plants to raising awareness to making a bee hotel will help to ensure everyone keeps bumbling on about bees.

A book that is worthy of the phrase, ‘the bees knees.’ Fantastic.

Recommended for 5+.