The Beeman

by Laurie Krebs, Valeria Cis (Illustrator), Tessa Strickland (Editor)

With rhyming text and warm, expressive paintings, this lovely picture book takes the reader through a year of beekeeping from the point of view of a little girl helping her beloved grandpa, who's known in the town as the Beeman. Written in the style of The House That Jack Built, the book touches upon all aspects of beekeeping. From how the keeper and his young helper dress, to how they care for the hive, to how they harvest (and enjoy eating) the honey. Children will discover what each type of bee does, see how honey is made, and learn lots of amazing facts in this gentle yet highly informative story.

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

30 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Laurie Krebs combines her love of children's literature with her enthusiasm for traveling, to create her wonderful picture books that bring readers all around the world. She lives in Virginia with her husband, Bill.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Beeman is just so gosh darn cute (love the cover!) and I know I would have thought it was ultra-cool if my grandpa was a beekeeper--mmm! The little girl in the story gets to follow along through the whole process of the honey from the bees' beginnings to the grandfather's harvesting and "spinning" the honey into the honey jars--and finally the family enjoying the honey on some of grandma's fresh baked muffins. Mmm! (And, um, I was TOTALLY fascinated by this process as a kid--I think it was "Reading Rainbow" that did a segment on this way back when and I thought it was SO cool!) So, this would be a good learning book for kids with the appealing illustrations, kid narrator, and accessible rhymes.
Parents should note that it does mention that the bees mate--nothing specific, but if that's not a term you're comfortable defining for your kids, then be warned.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative introduction to beekeeping for the younger set, Laurie Krebs' The Beeman features a rhyming narrative - "Here is the beehive, where all the bees sleep, / tucked into a box called / a shallow or deep" - that will draw children in, and engaging acrylic illustrations from Argentine artist Valeria Cis that will keep their attention. Describing the various types of bee to be found in a hive - the Queen Bee, the drones, the worker bees - and what they do, as well as the process whereby honey is harvested, the story follows a young boy and his beekeeping grandfather from hive to table, where they enjoy grandmother's muffins (with honey, of course!)...

Originally published in 2002 by National Geographic Children's Books, with illustrations by Melissa Iwai, Krebs' tale was reprinted in 2008 with new artwork by Cis. Having not seen the original edition, I cannot compare the two, but I enjoyed this later version quite a bit, and thought that Cis' artwork was appealing, in a fun and quirky kind of way. I was impressed, moreover, by how much information about bees and beekeeping Krebs managed to work into a text that was also entertaining, and read very well. The additional information at the rear of the book was also most welcome. All in all, an engaging picture-book that I would recommend to all young bee-lovers and would-be beekeepers.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is told in the format of The HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT, and tells of the tale of a beekeeper and what he does. The end pages have lots of information on bees making this a book that nicely dovetails fiction and nonfiction.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to the world of bees! In rhyming text, a child describes the work Grandpa does to take care of honeybees and harvest the honey they make.

[Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) No awards currently.
2) Prek through 2nd
3) The Beeman is an informational text in story format about the amazing honey bee. The book is told from the perspective of a young boy whose grandpa is a beekeeper and readers follow him as he learns about bee social interactions, beekeeping procedures and where honey comes from.
4) The Beeman is a book rich with great information about the complexities of the lives of bees while, engaging through the literary format it uses. Often when informational texts are put into storybook format, there is a sacrifice of material presented in order to stay engaging. This book did not fall into that trap and managed to stay extremely informative while entertaining. Readers will learn all the basics about the incredible complexities of bees.
5)
a) A wonderful spring time book for a class when they will begin to see more bees while outside. Reminding them never to fear the bees and now being knowledgable of why they are hanging out around flowers all the time and why they are so busy.
b) A wonderful book to incorporate into a theme on insects or perhaps even when talking about social structure with older children.

[Jo Oehrlein]

I disagree with the official designation of this as "in the style of This is the House That Jack Built". This does not have that kind of repetitive structure, adding a line each time. See the following Wiki article for what The House That Jack Built really is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is...

Instead, this book has a fixed poetical form for each page.
Example:
Here is the beehive
where all the bees sleep,
tucked into a box called
a shallow or deep

It's a fun read and provides nice information on bees and beekeeping without getting weighed down with a ton of details or a lot of text.

[Freddie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is completely wonderful. There are gorgeous end papers featuring little pots of honey and a beautiful epigraph featuring a poem by Ailee Fisher that is an ode to bees. The illustrations are spectacular and the story is entertaining but also informative (the bee-keeping elements) and relatable (the child's relationship with his grandparents). At the back of the book there is further age-appropriate information panels offering more details about bees, beekeeping and honey. There is also a recipe for 'Grandma's Apple and Honey Muffins', that were featured in the book, offering a wonderful interactive tie-in to a fun (and delicious) baking activity.

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Backyard beehives get an up-close look in THE BEEMAN. A child and her grandfather examine the bee colony and extract some honey. They are sure to leave enough so the colony will have enough food for the winter ahead.

I thought the line that claimed the bees were making honey for "me and the Beeman" was pretty ridiculous. Honey bees know nothing of the appetites of humans and will make honey whether or not people collect it. It serves as a food source for the hive.

[Mandy Robek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nonfiction narrative - ish, mimicking the story The House that Jack Built has a lovely story about a grandson and his grandfather the beeman. The end of the story has a traditional nonfiction section describing specific beekeeping words in more detail. Before the story there's a poem and it ends with a recipe - how fun!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like the content level did not match the language level. I wanted to read it to my three year old students, and it was written in an age-appropriate way. . . but the content was much too complex for kids that age. . . any older, and the writing would be too immature. Still had good pictures and made a good springboard for discussing how bees make honey.

[Tori Rumschlag · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Beeman by Laurie Krebs is a softly illustrated, multigenerational picture book about the care and keeping of beehives. A little girl joins her grandfather as he tends to his hives. The book walks through many of the basic steps of beekeeping and honey collection. The prose is short and sweet, easy to understand.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learn about bee-keeping from a boy visiting his grandfather, the beeman. Really like the flow of the narrative- kept things interesting and poetic while presenting new information on most every page.

[Klyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it and the bees

[Mary Peble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that this book addresses both the biology of bees and the social aspects of beekeeping. Works for a range of ages because there is additional factual information following the story.

[Nel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyrical and enjoyable for young kids but also informative in a simple way about bees, hives and honey making

[SARAH · Rating 3 out of 5]

a great addition to any study of bees and/or honey

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elementary and up picture book about a grandson learning about his grandfather's bee keeping and honey harvesting business. Lots of nonfiction facts mixed into the story.

[Kimberly Wright Oelkers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes me want to be a beekeeper!

[Rachael Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhymes that explain what goes into beekeeping.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much information packed into the rhyming verses. If that's not enough, there are 6 pages of extra info (and a recipe for apple honey muffins) at the end.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very accurate and great introduction to beekeeping, for kids! Introduces a lot of the main concepts, and vocabulary, with additional, more detailed information at the end.

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 year old was very into this book and wanted me to read it to her again. I actually learned a lot. Very interesting

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet tale about a grandfather who is also a beekeeper, told by his granddaughter. The narrative is rhyming and repetitive, and while it is similar to the rhythm of the story This is the House that Jack Built, this tale is more consecutive than cumulative. It's a fun book to read aloud and we enjoyed reading it together.

This story was selected as one of the books for the April 2010 - Environmental and Nature Themes reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Goodreads Description says it all.

A sweet (as honey, ha ha!), gentle introduction to beekeeping. 7 pages of more detailed facts to fill out the basic information presented in the picture book: a bees life cycle and basic anatomy, the structure of a bee colony, beekeeping basics, what honey is, what pollination is, the importance of bee dancing (the round dance and the wagtail, or waggle, dance), and a recipe for "Grandma's Apple and Honey Muffins."

The poetry and pictures share enough to hook the reader whose curiosity is somewhat - but not completely - satisfied by the 7 pages at the end, encouraging the reader to explore beyond this book.

A fine read, educational and enjoyable; perfect for the budding scientist and/or environmentalist. Could very easily inspire some junior beekeepers!

[Sunday · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this story, a grandchild follows a grandfather who is a beekeeper through a season of beekeeping. In poetic verse, the text is almost entirely facts about bees and the author incorporates specific vocabulary to describe the bees and the practice of beekeeping. The full-page illustrations clearly support the ideas in the text and there is additional information about these insects at the end of the book.

This would be an easy book to read aloud to students in the primary grades as part of an integrated unit on the life cycle of bees and related environmental issues.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of our topic books for Bee Week, and it was definitely a hit. The rhyming cadence, and cute *accurate* pictures of beekeeping were great. Not to mention, this book contained a LOT of information on bees and beekeeping while still being appropriate for preschoolers (read: not overly wordy, like some books. In fact, the word count for this book was actually rather low - they just fit a lot in there, and all in rhymes!) I was really impressed with this book, it was definitely a winner. We'll probably read it a few more times before Bee Week is over.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read aloud verse that packs tons of info about bees, honey collecting and bee keeping into an illustrated story about a boy and his grandpa, the beeman. Following the story are facts and further informations about bees, bee keeping, and honey. Great way for kids to further their awareness about where food really comes from (hint: not the store) and why the non toxic care and keeping of our planet is important.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's not to love about this book?! The rhythm is soothing and the pictures are detailed without being too busy for little eyes. And once again, gotta love Barefoot Books, the pages and pages of explanations, definitions, and factual information stored in the back like a prize at the end. My 2nd grader loves hearing this part almost as much as the fictional narrative!

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and informative rhyming picture book about all things bees. Any child who is curious will love this accurate but entertaining look at a beekeeper's life. You can find this and other Barefoot Books on my website.

[Donna-Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is amazing how many facts about bees and beekeepers have been included in this great story for young children. Bolded words in the story are given further explanation in the endnotes. There is even a recipe for Grandma's Apple and Honey Muffins.
"The Beeman" is actually the author's husband.