Bee Makes Tea

Usborne Phonics Readers

by Lesley Sims, Fred Blunt (Illustrator)

A lively story with humorous illustrations, ideal for children who are beginning to read for themselves, or for reading aloud together.
A simple but entertaining rhyming story with delightful illustrations, perfect for sharing with young children, or for children who are starting to read alone. Specially written with simple rhymes and phonic repetition to help develop essential language and reading skills. Includes guidance notes for parents at the back of the book.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Storytime

24 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Lesley dreamed of being a writer, but studied law as her mother insisted she had "something to fall back on". Since joining Usborne Publishing, she has written and edited hundreds of books, from funny rhyming stories to an award-winning history book. Nowadays, she is often found recording books, too, in Usborne's very own recording studio.

Reviews

[Lev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that they made the bee cake in time and the Queen really liked it and they had a good supper.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this phonics reader with rhyming text and precious illustrations! The story is so cute. A Bee is making a birthday tea for her Queen Bee, but she can't get it all down to the beach. So her friend Ant and his friends help out, but her giant birthday cake doesn't make it out of the house, before falling apart. But Ant saves the day when he suggests she make the broken up cake into a bee-shaped cake, which of course the Queen loves. I love doing all the voices for this book and my son liked helping saying some of the lines in a tiny bee voice. Recommended for ages 3-6, 5 stars.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally rhyming books can be very irritating to me if the rhymes are not spot on; strangely enough with this book I found it ok.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute phonics-based rhyming book that is about a baker bee who is preparing a special birthday tea for the Queen Bee. The illustrations were colorful, detailed, and adorable. Also teaches the value of helping others and how to creatively solve problems that can happen with the best intentions. Great for younger kids learning how to read or any child who enjoys rhyming. This has a beach setting so it's perfect for Summer.

[Joy Keil · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 yo and 1.5 yo really enjoy these phonics readers. This is a favourite for sure. On order for our home collection! (Yes, I recommend the entire set of Usborne Phonics Readers! We definitely enjoyed the art more and that the characters overlap in the first 12 in the series - Fat Cat on a Mat, Frog on a Log... - but enjoying these new ones as well.)

[Liz Tiethoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2 year old loves this book. We read it at least 3 times in a row every time we read it. He loves to echo the rhyming words. As a parent, I love that the story revolves around hard work and friends helping each other.

[Angela Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a favorite story and has been read and re-read many times by myself to my daughter. We bought the set of books from Usborne phonics readers series and would recommend this story. My daughter is five now and Bee Makes Tea is still in rotation on our shelves.

[Callie Manias · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for new readers. Or talking about what to do when things go wrong. Simple comprehension.

From Schaeffer's

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and quick read for bedtime with good rhyming. If I have to pick a book for bedtime these are more fun for me to read to my daughter because of the rhyming.

[Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bright illustrations and lots of fun rhyming.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute illustrations and fun rhymes for the littles.

[Megan Cheang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ant should get more credit in the title

[Cadence · Rating 5 out of 5]

My toddler requests this book almost daily. We love the story and rhyming and the cute illustrations.

[Shepherd · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book because all the words were too hard. Well I did like the pictures.

[Alyssa Haverfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me want to have a tea party so bad. I liked the teamwork and creative problem solving lessons as well. Adorable!

[Lex Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sweet Usborne Phonics book. Some of the collection are a little odd but this is a cute one.

[Meghan K · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your child likes books that rhyme then this would be a great book for them.

[Aria Scoma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. Lots of detail and fun rhyming. Bee was super cute and fun.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maddie’s nickname was Bee as a baby, so this was a cute read for her. We liked the creative solution to the cake disaster.

[Irina H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute story that cleverly introduces a few basic phonics concepts to small children.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute rhyming book for early readers.

[Denicemarcell]

cute

[Hunter Kleinow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these books during Kindergarten reading groups and the students really love them. The best part about these books is how they rhyme, have good word choice, and use really interesting illustrations. These books are somewhat of a series and they follow the same recognizable style that the students like. I feel that the characters are relatable and students begin to see them in the background illustrations of the other books in this series.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a phonics reader book, it has a bit of catchy rhyming to the phrases as it rushes through the story (and I say "rushes" more because the bee is in such a hurry to get everything made and set up just so more than the length of the actual book). It's cute and funny, and perfect for little girls especially. My daughter enjoys playing "tea time" now, so having a book that sets just the right stage like this is a bit of extra fun.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has adorable (and funny) illustrations that made my young children laugh and really enjoy it. The author also did a great job telling the story with rhyme.

[Slaa!!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute!! Too bad goodreads doesn't have the cover :|

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute phonics book, solving problems.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phonics, USbourne, another Oscar favorite. Probably his favorite of this little phonics series.

[Lori Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet story about bee-ing creative when things don’t go your way. Loved it!

[Ashley Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love these phonics books and Bee Makes Tea is one of the better ones. It's a fun story and fun rhymes to help a child learn to read.