Flight of the Honey Bee

by Raymond Huber, Brian Lovelock (Illustrator)

Overview

“One of the most informative picture books about honey bees, this is surely among the most beautiful as well.” —Booklist (starred review)


A tiny honey bee emerges from the hive for the first time. Using sunlight, landmarks, and scents to remember the path, she goes in search of pollen and nectar to share with the thousands of other bees in her hive. She uses her powerful sense of smell to locate the flowers that sustain her, avoids birds that might eat her, and returns home to share her finds with her many sisters. Nature lovers and scientists-to-be are invited to explore the fascinating life of a honey bee.
Back matter includes information about protecting bees and an index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536221053
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/03/2020
Series:	Read and Wonder
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	AD840L (what's this?)
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Raymond Huber has been a social worker, gardener, primary school teacher, lecturer, writer, and editor. He lives in New Zealand.


Brian Lovelock is a scientist and painter who recently ventured into the world of book illustration with Roadwork, an award-winning picture book. He lives in New Zealand.

About Me
When I was a child my father made me slide down mountains and my mother trapped me in a dungeon of books. But in a good way: Dad was a skiing instructor and he gave me a love of the outdoors; and my mum worked in a children’s library where I’d go every day after school, which inspired my love of books.
The library was like Dr Who's TARDIS for me; a doorway into fantastic worlds. Among my favourites books were Calico the Wonder Horse, the Moomin series and Tintin books (which had everything that other children’s books didn’t in the 1960s: comic strips, realistic action and flawed adult characters). Tolkien also kindled my imagination with his small hero facing great evil, which directly inspired my first novel, Sting, about a honey bee facing the world.
My adult jobs have been as a community worker, a gardener, a bug counter, a school teacher, and now a writer and editor. My wife, Penelope Todd, is a fine novelist and we have 3 grown up children and 2 grandsons.

My Work
I’ve always had a buzz from writing; it started at age 7, with a teacher who praised a quirky report I wrote. I also love science and it’s given me many ideas for my books. Especially insect science: I studied entomology at university and on my 40th birthday a friend gave me a beehive for a present (that was some surprise party!). After observing the bees for years, I wrote two novels (Sting and Wings, both Walker Books) about a bee’s adventures.
I write because I have so many ideas in my brain which need a home. While writing I consult my inner audience – a 10 year old boy – who likes a quest and action. For example, in Flight of the Honey Bee there’s a wasp attack, a hail storm, and a bird chase; probably more action than a bee meets on the average day (I wanted to call it ‘Fly Hard’). The biggest challenge of a writing a picture book was to integrate science with a gripping narrative, while showing how essential, even appealing, honey bees are – all in 500 words.
The worst thing about being a writer is not having enough time; the best thing is the moment when I open a copy of my new book when it first arrives.
My advice to aspiring writers is: don’t read, stay inside, watch TV….no, not really. You should read great books, go out, have adventures, and remember that nobody else sees the world exactly like you do. Also, learn to edit.

There Things You Might Not Know About Me
1. I look a little like Tintin (it's the tuft of hair).
2. I love to carve limestone sculptures while listening to 1970s’ pop songs.
3. I remember my dreams every night.

Editorial Reviews

This brightly illustrated picture book achieves a good deal. The lively, realistic story is enhanced with apt imagery and vivid turns of phrase. Meanwhile, small-type sentences on each spread add intriguing related facts about honey bees. ... One of the most informative picture books about honey bees, this is surely among the most beautiful as well.
—Booklist (starred review)

[T]his handsome, respectful volume deserves a place on the shelf.
—Kirkus Reviews

The well-paced text is set in warm, bright scenes. The realistic figure of the bee contrasts with soft, impressionistic backgrounds in orange and gold, blue and green hues. ... There are many fine books on this insect, but this one will be welcome in libraries that can use just a little more for children in the early grades.
—School Library Journal

The prose is polished and informative and the secondary tidbits are often quite fascinating. Lovelock’s mixed-media art is simply stunning, pairing compositions of vigorous graphic strength with delicate watercolor mottling and precise biological detail.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

A genuinely satisfying early science book for young readers—right down to the index on the endpapers.
—The Horn Book

Huber's language is descriptive and gorgeously reminiscent of the bee's flight itself. Every page also offers facts about bumble bees and their behavior. Watercolor, acrylic ink, and colored pencil illustrations are bright and bold; reader's will almost feel the warmth and comfort inside the golden hive.
—Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

09/01/2013
K-Gr 2—On a golden fall day, a bee makes her first flight as scout, looking for flowers for the bees in her hive to harvest. Focusing on the insect's journey, the story introduces the shared work of the bee colony and the basic scheme of honey production. "An arresting smell drifts on the breeze. Scout locks onto this scent" and soon finds herself in "an ocean of flowers." Not all of the quest is pretty. There's an attacking blackbird and a thunderstorm from which the bee must find protection. The well-paced text is set in warm, bright scenes. The realistic figure of the bee contrasts with soft, impressionistic backgrounds in orange and gold, blue and green hues. The narrative, set to one side or the other of the spread, is accompanied by a bit of straightforward, factual explanation in smaller, italicized type. Scout carries the pollen back to her hive, dancing instructions to her sister bees, who then fly off to gather the precious nectar. There are many fine books on this insect, but this one will be welcome in libraries that can use just a little more for children in the early grades. Huber provides an opening note on the importance of the bee as "the planet's greatest pollinator" and closes with a cautionary note that "honey bees are dying out." He doesn't mention the current debacle of collapsing bee colonies in the U.S. (he's from New Zealand), but he does advise young readers on simple steps to help pollinating insects.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

School Library Journal

2013-08-15
A New Zealand import describes a worker honeybee‘s scouting mission. Naming his protagonist Scout for her current role in the hive, Huber delivers a present-tense narrative of her odyssey. It is fall, and Scout seeks its "last flowers." Through winds and past a hungry black bird, she finds a "sea of flowers" from which she gathers nectar and pollen. A sudden hailstorm temporarily grounds her, and when she arrives home, guard bees are battling a wasp that's attempting to rob the hive. Once inside, she does her waggle dance so her "sister bees" can find her meadow and harvest enough nectar to make honey for the winter. Running alongside the narrative of Scout's day are supplemental facts about the science of bees (flying charges them with static electricity, attracting pollen, for instance), and a brief author's note and index provide additional informational heft. The text at times strains under figurative language that's not quite right--the bees "flick from the hive like golden pebbles"--but by and large, it succeeds in accurately dramatizing honeybee behavior. Lovelock's full-bleed paintings, done in watercolor, acrylic ink and colored pencil, vary in perspective and scale, making the most of the autumn palette and refraining at all times from anthropomorphizing their subjects. While hardly the only bee book available, this handsome, respectful volume deserves a place on the shelf. (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews