Bee: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup
ISBN-13: 978-1524715267
Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers (January 31, 2017)
Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool – 2
WorldCat Permalink: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/970661324
My Goodreads Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary and Thoughts
When I was on a mission for my youth services class the other day looking for nonfiction read-aloud books, I ran across this beautiful book. I love all things bees and honey, so I had to check this one out. This is a very introductory level book about bees but would make for a perfect read-aloud. The author uses simple, rhyming text to tell the story of one little bee’s daily travels as it goes about pollinating our world. What is most appealing to me about this book is the artwork. I really adore Teckentrup’s vivacious and vibrant artistic style and will definitely be on the lookout for more of her books!
Nonfiction Read-alikes and Recommendations:
Give Bees a Chance by Bethany Barton
Are You a Bee? (Backyard Books) by Judy Allen
Bee Dance by Rick Chrustowski
The Bumblebee Queen by April Pulley Sayre
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup
Extension Idea:
Have your children get involved with The Great Sunflower Project! They can help plant sunflowers and watch for pollinators.
Here is this organization’s statement:
“People all over the country are collecting data on pollinators in their yards, gardens, schools and parks. Together, we take counts of the number and types of pollinators visiting plants (especially sunflowers). We have been gathering information on pollinator service since 2008, and now have the largest single body of information about bee pollinator service in North America”. (http://www.greatsunflower.org/node/1000010)
For additional Information about bees check out these websites:
http://www.abfnet.org/?page=16
https://www.natgeokids.com/za/discover/animals/insects/honey-bees/
Here is a 2-minute video from National Geographic Kids showing children learning about the importance of bees.
for the love of books 
When my oldest daughter was young she was obsessed with the book Buzz, Buzz, Busy Bees:
https://www.amazon.com/Buzz-Buzz-Busy-Bees-Dawn-Bentley/dp/0689868480
It was a simple counting book in verse – counting down from 10 bees to 1 – with a surprise electric buzz sound when you reached the very end. I spent hours (days, weeks, months…) of my life reading that book out loud. Subsequently, my daughter has always had a love for all things bees. And, of course, honey! This book has slipped passed my radar and I’ve put it on hold so that I can check it out and share it with her. Thanks!
Teckentrup’s name was familiar and I looked up some of her other books. It is always funny to me how I can have read numerous books by the same author or the same illustrator and not quite realized it. I adored Tree: A Peak-Through Picture Book, which came out the year before. (One can hope that this whole peak-through thing becomes a long running theme! **Actually – there is another one coming out next year about the moon!) But I’ve also loved Big Smelly Bear, Don’t Wake the Tiger, and her spotting books. I’ve read all of those at home with my daughters but I’ve also used all of them in storytimes as well. Looking at Teckentrup’s website, there are dozens more I’ve never seen/read! How exciting!
I enjoyed the structure of your post. Solid summary and artwork. I appreciated the readalikes and I really enjoyed having the video embedded. Great job!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just used Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book on Friday for a storytime, have Moon in a cart to purchase, and now Bee, thanks to you! The text reads almost like poetry. Here is another beautiful one that you might enjoy as a follow-up: Flowers are Calling by Rita Gray. Your video link was an added bonus to a great post!
LikeLiked by 1 person