A Beekeeper's Year

by Sylvia A. Johnson, Nick Von Ohlen (Photographer)

Full-color photographs follow beekeeper John Wetzler through four seasons, with an informative text that explains honey-production techniques, from introducing a new queen bee in the spring to keeping bees warm through the winter.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Library Binding

First published April 1, 1994

About the author

Sylvia A. Johnson has had a long career as a writer of nonfiction for young people. Her books on scientific and historical subjects have received many awards.

Reviews

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was full of helpful information, taking the reader through the various tasks in each season of a beekeeper's year. Filled with photographs and a glossary as well as a few recipes in the back, A Beekeeper's Year is a good resource for interested young readers. The style is dated and though the text was clear and age-appropriate it was dry and colorless. Definitely not a book to get kids excited about the subject. Nevertheless, it is a useful resource for kids and classrooms.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of a year in hobby-beekeeping. I'm sure the routine is quite different for keeping hundreds of hives as opposed to 10. I learned that the smoke doesn't make the bees calm, it actually gets them worked up as if their hive were on fire, and they scramble for honey, which keeps them distracted from the beekeeper. That sounds kind of mean... :( And I also learned that bees are not exempt from pharmaceuticals and chemicals, although I assume that it is possible to keep bees "naturally." I often read a children's book on a topic I want to learn more about to get the basic framework of what's going on, then reading a bigger book makes more sense to me.

[Arminzerella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good overview of bees and bee-keeping. Adults as well as children will learn from this short, but well-rounded offering. Bee-keeping vocabulary/terminology is used throughout (and defined within the text as well as in a short glossary at the end), and the narrative manages to be accessible without talking down to kids. Some of the photos of the kids helping out toward the end are looking a little dated, but the bee-keeping equipment doesn't seem to have changed a whole lot since the 1990s (when this was published).

[Marta · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather text-heavy picture book, this would be ideal for more passionate older readers of around 10 and up. Having said that, this is good basic knowledge for anyone, so older readers can enjoy it, too. Great for getting started in your research about keeping bees, but definitely not the only source you want to go to- especially not if you're interested in organic, or more nature oriented bee keeping.