A gentle intergenerational tale for young readers about the importance of patience and the fascinating work of beekeeping, from award-winning author Lester L. Laminack and celebrated illustrator Jim Lamarche. Henry wants nothing more than to be like his Aunt Lilla and work with the beehives on their Lowcountry farm. He watches her every day, working hard outside in her bee suit, but what amazes him the most is her ability to communicate with the bees. Henry feels certain he can, too. Then one day, Aunt Lilla tells him the bees are preparing to leave the hive and may leave the farm entirely. Henry believes it is up to him to communicate with the bees and convince them to stay, before it's too late. An author's note includes additional information about bees and bee conservation.
Bees continue to fascinate and charm us all - from novice gardeners and nature-lovers to dedicated environmentalists - and today, bees need our help more than ever. Discover the story of these incredible creatures, with The Little Book of Bees. Bees first appeared on Earth an incredible 130 million years ago. Since the time of the dinosaurs, evolution has taken our beloved bees on an incredible journey - and today, there are 20,000 species on the planet. The Little Book of Bees is a lovely, informative book of all things bee - from evolution and communication, to honey, beekeeping, and saving the bees - all in a beautifully illustrated gift book. Contents Chapter One: The Story of Bees The Evolution of the Bee · The Bee Life Cycle · The Bee Family Tree · Bee Anatomy · Bee Nesting Behaviours · Bee Factoids Chapter Two: Superorganisms Sociality in Bees · Bumble Bees · Honey Bees · Stingless Bees Chapter Three: Honey What is Honey? · Types of Honey · Practical Uses for Honey · Honey Healthcare Chapter Four: Beekeeping Why Keep Bees? · An Introduction to Beekeeping · Keeping Stingless Bees Chapter Five: Protecting Our Bee Buddies Why Are Bees in Decline? · Supporting Our Bees in 10 Easy Steps · Providing a Home for Bees Chapter Two: Superorganisms Sociality in Bees · Bumble Bees · Honey Bees · Stingless Bees Chapter Three: Honey What is Honey? · Types of Honey · Practical Uses for Honey · Honey Healthcare Chapter Four: Beekeeping Why Keep Bees? · An Introduction to Beekeeping · Keeping Stingless Bees Chapter Five: Protecting Our Bee Buddies Why Are Bees in Decline? · Supporting Our Bees in 10 Easy Steps · Providing a Home for Bees
One day, when King Solomon was resting in his garden, a small bee accidentally stung the great king on his nose. Furious, the king summoned all possible offenders and demanded to know who had dared to sting him. A small bee came forward and, as it pleaded for the king’s forgiveness, offered to repay him. King Solomon was amused by the bee’s earnest proposal, for how could such a little bee repay such a powerful king? Dalia Hardof Renberg’s simple adaptation of this traditional story, pared with Ruth Heller’s glorious illustrations, is a surprising and charming tale of how one small bee keeps its mighty promise.
An exploration of the importance of bees in our world is offered through the author's lyrical observations to his young sons, often with analogies between the insects and children, and always beautifully presented with unconditional love for them both.
A lyrical picture book memoir of one boy and his beloved grandmother, from award-winning author Lester L. Laminack. Every Saturday, a young boy rides his bicycle up and down country roads, past farms and a filling station, until he reaches his Mammaw's house. She is waiting for him. There, the young boy helps her. She picks tomatoes and he pushes the lawnmower through the dew-wet grass. But the best part of the day is helping his Mammaw make teacakes from scratch and eating the hot, sweet cakes fresh from the oven. Lester L. Laminack's richly detailed prose perfectly portrays the special relationship of a young boy and his grandmother. Award-winning illustrator Chris Soentpiet's remarkably detailed watercolor images beautifully capture the setting.
Find out where honey comes from as Grandpa the Beeman teaches the basics of beekeeping to his young grandson. This rhyming story includes 7 pages of educational endnotes full of essential facts about bees, beekeeping, honey, and the vital part that bees play in the natural world. Includes a honey muffin recipe on the final page!
A rich and surprising exploration of the intelligence of bees Most of us are aware of the hive mind—the power of bees as an amazing collective. But do we know how uniquely intelligent bees are as individuals? In The Mind of a Bee, Lars Chittka draws from decades of research, including his own pioneering work, to argue that bees have remarkable cognitive abilities. He shows that they are profoundly smart, have distinct personalities, can recognize flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness. Taking readers deep into the sensory world of bees, Chittka illustrates how bee brains are unparalleled in the animal kingdom in terms of how much sophisticated material is packed into their tiny nervous systems. He looks at their innate behaviors and the ways their evolution as foragers may have contributed to their keen spatial memory. Chittka also examines the psychological differences between bees and the ethical dilemmas that arise in conservation and laboratory settings because bees feel and think. Throughout, he touches on the fascinating history behind the study of bee behavior. Exploring an insect whose sensory experiences rival those of humans, The Mind of a Bee reveals the singular abilities of some of the world’s most incredible creatures.
In this story of an astonishing love, Thomas Sanchez portrays the violence, hope, and grandeur of lives transformed by war and exile. At the heart of the novel are Zermano, a world-famous Spanish painter, and his beautiful French muse, Louise Collard -- whose lives are torn apart by the German invasion of France in World War II. Leaving Louise in Vichy-controlled Provence, Zermano returns to occupied Paris. But while he eventually goes on to celebrity and fortune, Louise disappears into obscurity. Fifty years later, after Louise's death, an American scholar arrives in the south of France seeking the truth about the lovers' tempestuous romance and sudden separation. Why did the painter abandon the young beauty? What was the cause of her lifelong reclusiveness? What dark mysteries were being concealed by the ill-fated couple? By chance, the professor finds a cache of correspondence -- Zermano's letters to Louise in her remote mountain village, and her intentionally unmailed letters to him in Paris. In their vivid, wrenching contents he uncovers secrets that Louise kept even from Zermano about her wartime experience: the dangers of her participation in the Resistance, and her complicity with one of its leaders, the Fly; her struggles to elude a sadistic officer who hunts her for political and personal reasons; her lyrical intimacy with a mystical beekeeper. Louise is forced to make a fateful decision between the love for her man, and the ultimate sacrifice for her country. In a powerful climax, the scholar is compelled to journey to Mallorca, where Zermano is rumored to be living in self-imposed exile. Determined to reveal Louise's fate to the painter, our narrator does not suspect that he, too, will be forced to confront the enigma of his own desire.
A beautiful hymn to nature featuring haikus, set in a quiet corner of Japan. An old lady and her granddaughter enjoy strolling through the countryside in the middle of summer. The grandmother explains to the little girl all about the wonderful world of bees, and why these beautiful insects are so important for life on our planet. Years later, the granddaughter returns with her son to the place where her grandmother's house once stood, and thanks to the dance of the bees, discovers something they'll never forget.
