It's
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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at
and #IMWAYR day
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Back at school. We won't have students until Wednesday, and then only 6th graders and their WEB leaders. I suppose it's good for the 6th graders to ease into the year, but I'm not sure I would have liked that. I have VIVID memories of my first day of middle school... in 1975! Throw them in the deep end! There aren't regular library class visits until next week, but I am open the first day. Very glad to be able to do that, since last year I was stuck at home recuperating from surgery. Luckily, I'm back to about 90% and have even started running.
If your school year is starting, hope it is as awesome as my 28th year in teaching. 46 years of being in school!
Turn This Book Into a Beehive!: And 19 Other Experiments and Activities That Explore the Amazing World of Bees
April 3, 2018 by Workman Kids
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
I've been worried about the health of the world's bees since reading Burns' The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe back in 2012. Like that book, Turn This Book into a Beehive gives a lot of facts and information about the crises facing bee populations, but also has a lot more information about how bees live, and plenty of interesting experiments and activities as well. Not only that, but the dust jacket can be taken off and turned into a hive for mason bees.
The descriptions of different types of bees and what they do. The activities support this; there's one involving getting cheese puffs out of cups to show how pollen gets dispersed, as well as instructions on how to dissect a flower. The list of fruits and vegetables and ingredients that depend on bees might astonish some younger readers, but the message is clear. Without bees, ALL of the food supply is in trouble.
The highlight of the book is, of course, turning the dust jacket into a hive for mason bees. About half of the pages in the book are supposed to be torn out and rolled up, then fashioned into the type of hive shown on the cover. The illustrations on these pages are very cute; there are single colored all over designs interspersed with solid color pages with little vignettes of tiny insect "houses" that are almost too delightful to roll up and put into the nest!
The descriptions of different types of bees and what they do. The activities support this; there's one involving getting cheese puffs out of cups to show how pollen gets dispersed, as well as instructions on how to dissect a flower. The list of fruits and vegetables and ingredients that depend on bees might astonish some younger readers, but the message is clear. Without bees, ALL of the food supply is in trouble.
The highlight of the book is, of course, turning the dust jacket into a hive for mason bees. About half of the pages in the book are supposed to be torn out and rolled up, then fashioned into the type of hive shown on the cover. The illustrations on these pages are very cute; there are single colored all over designs interspersed with solid color pages with little vignettes of tiny insect "houses" that are almost too delightful to roll up and put into the nest!
This series of nature activity books by Workman Publishing also includes Turn this Book Into a Bird Feeder, and both would be great to use for a summer study project. For more information on bees, definitely check out Burns' book mentioned above, as well as Fleming's Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera or Socha's enormous (in trim size, not in length) Bees: A Honeyed History.
Turn This Book Into a Bird Feeder!: And 19 Other Activities to Explore the Amazing World of Birds
March 25, 2025 by Workman Kids
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Bird watching has become something of a trend in middle grade literature (McCullough's Across the Pond, King's The Drake Equation, Miller's Rare Birds, Lord's Home Away From Home), so it's not surprising to see a complete guide to start this hobby for young readers. Along with tips to get started, there is a lot of good factual information about birds as a species. From "what makes a bird a bird" to chapters on feathers, how birds fly, and what they eat, the life of birds, and why we need them, this covers all of the information one could want to know about our feathered friends. This book is a paperback, but has a cardstock weight dust jacket that has directions on how to turn it into a bird feeder, which is very clever.
In between the chapters, there are activities that relate to the information presented. There is a duck call to make from a straw, an experiment putting oil on paper to mimic feathers' waterproof qualities, instructions on how to draw a bird, and even an experiment to replicate bird beaks with household items.
My favorite section might have been the illustrated list of birds that are common to different areas. The thumbnail sketches are labeled with the bird names, and are very detailed for their small size. I was able to identify the goldfinches and red winged blackbirds that are common where I live.
I'm looking forward to sharing a LOT of nature activity books with my grandchildren, and can't wait until they have good scissor skills to turn the dust jacket of this book into a bird feeder! I am shelving this title along with Storey Publishing's Backpack Explorer Discovering Trees and On the Nature Trail, Roehring's Rainbow Science, and Rothman's Ocean Anatomy Activity Book. For more information on birds, Collard's and Brooks' Waiting for a Warbler is also a good choice.
In between the chapters, there are activities that relate to the information presented. There is a duck call to make from a straw, an experiment putting oil on paper to mimic feathers' waterproof qualities, instructions on how to draw a bird, and even an experiment to replicate bird beaks with household items.
My favorite section might have been the illustrated list of birds that are common to different areas. The thumbnail sketches are labeled with the bird names, and are very detailed for their small size. I was able to identify the goldfinches and red winged blackbirds that are common where I live.
I'm looking forward to sharing a LOT of nature activity books with my grandchildren, and can't wait until they have good scissor skills to turn the dust jacket of this book into a bird feeder! I am shelving this title along with Storey Publishing's Backpack Explorer Discovering Trees and On the Nature Trail, Roehring's Rainbow Science, and Rothman's Ocean Anatomy Activity Book. For more information on birds, Collard's and Brooks' Waiting for a Warbler is also a good choice.
The Big Questions Answered Series
Jeffery, Eliza and Bittencourt, Lays (illustrator)
February 4, 2025 by Beetle Books
Copy Provided by Young Adult Books Central
It's important that young readers understand how valuable and endangered bees are, and this long picture book is a good way to introduce them to many critical topics surrounding out buzzy friends. Not only do bees help make sure that plants thrive, but humans have been using their products since the time of the ancient Egyptians! Information about how apian society is included, as are some of the challenges that bees face. There's a nice two page spread of different types of bees, as well as a beautifully illustrated flow chart of the pollination journey, bee facts, and a glossary and pronunciation guide.
While this is marketed at readers in kindergarten through third grade, it is just the right length for older readers to use to learn a bit more about bees. It's a tiny bit long for a read aloud, but just has a couple of sentences on each page, which make it easy for impatient readers to move through quickly. Like Wheel of Fortune contestants who gain knowledge from reading middle grade books, actual middle graders can add to their information stores by reading books aimed at younger students.
The illustrations are done in a cartoon style that is well suited to older readers, and has a lot of earthy greens and browns with pops of bright colors for flowers. The words are positioned well, and easy to read.
There have been many good books about bees in the last few years, so add this to a list of apian tomes that includes Brunelle's Turn This Book into a Beehive, Sekaninova's Diary of a Bee, or Burn's The Hive Detectives, or use it as a nonfiction companion to Delaney's The Big Sting, McDunn's The Queen Bee and Me, Wientge's Honeybees and Frenemies, or Cartaya's The Lasts Beekeeper.
These bee books sound great - and while the thought of tearing pages out of a book makes me tremble, I really like that such a good activity is included. My sister keeps honey bees and it is fascinating to hear about collecting the honey and what she does with the beeswax. Best of luck with the return to school (Already????), and great to hear you're out running again! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAll of these sound amazing. I'm no longer teaching, but when I was, I had a lot of students who were into nature and collecting bugs--and my son is still. And I love learning about birds. It's wonderful seeing more books like this. I hope you have a wonderful start to your school year!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I could tear pages out of a book (maybe I could), but I love this idea of the bee and bird experiment books! Definitely keeping these on the Christmas list for my littlest. Thanks for sharing your reviews.
ReplyDeleteMy parents were beekeepers, so I'm always interested in books about bees. I, too, worry about their ability to survive, and us with them. The bird book sounds great too. Thanks for telling me about all of these.
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