It’s World Bee Day! This day celebrates the importance of bees and other pollinators to worldwide agriculture and biodiversity, and raises awareness about the challenges they face. If you utilize pollinator-friendly practices and plant native plants in your yard, you can get a free native habitat yard sign courtesy of the Village’s Environmental and Energy Commission!
In the spirit of this year's World Bee Day theme, Bee Engaged with Youth, here are six books to help younger readers learn about the essential role of bees:
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming
Get up close and personal with Apis, one bee, as she embarks on her journey through life. Find a copy of Honeybee here.
Bee & Me by Alison Jay
A little girl befriends a bee, which takes her on a journey of discovery in this wordless picture book. Find a copy of Bee & Me here.
Bee Dance written and illustrated by Rick Chrustowski
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! Find a copy of Bee Dance here.
Flower Talk: How Plants Use Colors to Communicate by Sara Levine
A cantankerous talking cactus reveals to readers the significance of different colors of flowers in terms of which pollinators (bees, bats, birds, etc.) different colors "talk" to. Find a copy of Flower Talk here.
UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian
Come inside the honeycomb—a busy, buzzy, bee-filled home—and learn about the unexpected wonders of these tiny insects’ lifestyles, families, and communities. In fourteen funny, fact-filled honeybee poems and paintings, Douglas Florian explores the natural history of these often-unappreciated critters, revealing them to be a totally cool—and totally important—part of our ecosystem. Indeed, these buzzy bugs have been in the spotlight lately as wild bee populations are dwindling, honey prices are rising, and beekeeping has become a popular hobby. Find a copy of UnBEElievables here.
Give Bees a Chance by Bethany Barton
Not sure whether to high-five bees or run away from them? Well, maybe you shouldn’t high-five them, but you definitely don’t have to run away from them. Give Bees a Chance is for anyone who doesn’t quite appreciate how extra special and important bees are to the world, and even to humankind! Besides making yummy honey, they help plants grow fruits and vegetables. And most bees wouldn’t hurt a fly (unless it was in self-defense!) Find a copy of Give Bees a Chance here.
All summaries are provided by the publisher.