I love bees and this book is a wonderful resource to teach adults and children about the history, science and importance of bees in our lives.
Bees are such an important part of human activity and I don’t think people really understand the importance of bees in our everyday lives.
Exposing children to these books allow for us to have conversations about important issues and how we can make small differences in our lives to ensure that creatures such as bees are cared for.
The Book of Bees by Piotr Socha outlines the history of human interaction with bees, the important role honey has played in our lives and the different types of bees and hives there are in the world.
The science behind hives is explored along with the make up of the colony.
The illustrations add detail and humour to the facts and the end papers are beautiful!
If you ever see this book – grab a copy and share it with a small person in your life, not only will they learn more about these tiny insects that many of us are scared of but they will also realise how life as we know it will not survive if we continue to use pesticides, deplete green spaces and introduce pests.
So how do you encourage your child to appreciate bees?
– Walk outside and look at flowers – are there any insects inside the flowers? Keep an insect diary.
– Look at the bee diagram and draw your own bees, differentiating between the queen, drone and workers.
– Open your cupboard and fridge and write down what wouldn’t be in the fridge if bees didn’t exist.
– Draw up a timeline of human bee interaction.
– Make your own bee hive or beneficial insect home and place it in your backyard, balcony or local park. Keep an eye on it for visiting bugs!
– Check where your honey is from – make sure it is locally made. Local means less pesticides.