Bee Dance

by Rick Chrustowski

In Bee Dance , follow a foraging honeybee as she searches for food and returns to the hive to share the news in a honeybee dance!

A honeybee searches for nectar, then returns to the hive to tell the other bees. She does a waggle dance, moving in a special figure-eight pattern to share the location of the foodsource with her hivemates. With vivid and active images, Rick Chrustowski brings these amazing bees to life!

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Childrens, Animals, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 16, 2015

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

With brilliantly colored illustrations, the author describes a busy day in the life of a honeybee: from the discovery of a pollen-drenched wildflower field, to the race home to tell the hive, we learn, in the simplest terms, how bees communicate through dance. (The intricate dance steps are explained in more detail at the back of the book.)

An informative glance at a most precious creature.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this basic introduction to how bees communicate. I shared it with my 4 year old granddaughter and she thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it could be easily incorporated into a preK story time on insects.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m all a buzz (pun intended) about the cut paper collage pictures, which are full of details enhanced with pastel pencils. Just think about the time it must have taken author/illustrator Rick Chrustowski to create all those bees out of tiny pieces of intricately cut paper and those multi-hued flowers, grass, and leaves. Especially pay attention to the different layouts, including one as if you were an ant on the prairie watching the swarm of bees approach the flowers towering over you like fighter pilots at Pearl Harbor. Although this is located in nonfiction, the information is succinct enough and short enough to share with the story time crowd, especially if you pair with action movements. Don’t be afraid to shake your booty just like a bee. An author’s note provides further detail about the documented bee dance, and thanks a Cornell University professor for vetting the text. Bee-autiful!

[Kermit · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 stars

When bees find a good source of nectar, they return to their hives and do special movements called bee dance. The dance communicates to other bees the direction to fly in order to locate the rich nectar source. Dancing bees are even able to communicate how many seconds it will take to arrive at the source.

The text is very simple. In fact, the text is so simple that it reads like a story rather than like a nonfiction book. The Afterward gives much needed further information about bee dance.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very accessible, basic introduction of bee communication. Amazingly, after finding a plentiful food source, a bee returns to the hive to share the food location with a simple flying and shaking pattern. The illustrations are bright and bold, and complement the basic text very well.

Reviewed by Lisa Coleman, Youth Services, Vernon Area Public Library

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best of 2015. Used it for a program. Excellent.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

solid picture book nonfiction

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations draw the reader in as s/he learns facts about bees.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big, big laughs when we do the bee dance. Very neat book.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bees are amazing!!!

[Yasmine Coulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is very informational on the waggle dance that bees perform in order to tell the other bees where to find a patch of flowers. This story is told in second person point of view, so it feels like as the reader, you are the bee in the story. The author tells how a bee will go an find flowers, go back to the bee hive, and tell the other bees how to get to those flowers using a dance. The text is in large print and there are few words on each page. The illustrations are large and take up the entire page. The images are very colorful and full of details about bees. The illustrations enhance what the text is describing. While there may not be many words, the text is very informational. I would use this book with first graders to teach about pollination and a bee's role in the life cycle of plants.

[Gabriella Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is called "Bee Dance" by Rick Chrustowski. It is all about bees going out to collect pollen in order to make honey. I liked this book because if your classroom theme for the week was insects this is an informational book about how bees collect pollen to make honey. Even though it is informational it is still a quick read and is very colorful.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

A day in a bee's life told in story format. The illustrations are quite good. The text leaves much to be desired. The pattern of the story seems like it should rhyme, and in a couple of spots, it seems as if an attempt at rhyming is made. But overall, the text is clumsy and boring.

Not recommended for storytime.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rich with tier three vocabulary
Illustrations were ok- no photos
Length was appropriate
Suggestions for adults to read the back page too. Why bees do what they do.
Decent addition to an early childhood library- not recommended for a home collection.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like this book because I don't like the illustrations and it's sort of a like a book for grown-ups to read about bee-dancing. I liked the bee dance a little bit, and I think some of the stuff was interesting.

[Amy Soma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been on my list for a while and I finally got around to it. Having heard Chrustowski speak in the past, I know the cut paper illustrations are a departure from the norm and I love they layering and depth it adds! Add in his usual colored pencil for detail and it makes a beautiful book!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is totally fine. The drawings are nice enough and the story is a good illustration of bees' dances. For a book on the same topic, with more character, I would recommend The Honeybee https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Dena · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's science! Bees "dance" in order to communicate directions to treasure troves of nectar and pollen! My Storytime Littles loved this introduction to pollinators! We even did the dance, and talked about what it might look like if humans shared directions in this way! Great illustrations!

[Heather Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

megan summer reading 2017, children's book, picture book, nonfiction, non-fiction, bees, nectar, dance, communication, prek, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade,

[Emma Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book about how bees pollinate and make their hives. it is interesting and important for children to learn, while also being fun and a little silly

[Eliot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicely explains where honey comes from with illustrations that are full of life.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love educational books. It has information about bee dances at the back

[Renee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can see this working in a young classroom as an informational text but I do not see this working for storytime.

[Maeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations, and the perfect amount of information to share with a younger crowd.

Storytime:
Insects/Bugs
Bees
Flowers

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro for kids about how bees find pollen, dance to show other bees where it is, and how they live in the hive. Great for a preschool or early elementary unit on bees.

[Ad Astra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect book for toddlers to learn about bees. Illustrations are pretty great!

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - Interesting information provided at the end.

[April Parrish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how it primarily followed one bee

[Emily Storytime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started losing the kids' attention a bit, but it was the end of storytime. At the end, I had everyone get up and practice "waggle dancing" which was big fun.

[Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Educational but not fun to read.

Illustrations were dark and pictures were repetitive.