If You Love Honey: Nature's Connections

by Martha Sullivan, Cathy Morrison (Illustrator)

Teach kids how bees make honey and all the living creatures that help make it possible in this vibrantly illustrated picture book! Includes educational backmatter with information on the pollination process, honey, nectar, the honeybee ecosystem, and more. Bees make honey, but did you know that the entire process depends on the lives of dandelions, mushrooms, oak trees, and even blue jays? If you love honey, you better love all of them, too! This beautifully illustrated book builds on "if you love honey," and introduces young readers to all the living things that help make honey production possible. Perfect for kids who always wonder, "how do bees make honey?" and parents, teachers, and librarians looking for honeybee books for children and springtime books for kids. Backmatter

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Nonfiction, Nature

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sumptuous, incredibly-detailed illustrations accompany an engaging text that provides information about nature but also shows readers how dependent various species are on one another. The use of repetitive language ("If you love...") moves readers from a love for honey to the many fruits and honeybees that contribute to that sweet stuff, but it also reminds readers of the importance of other natural elements that matter, such as soil, mushrooms, and earthworms. That's a lot of things for which to be grateful every time one of us tastes something sweetened with honey. As usual from this publisher, the book contains several activities and additional information in the back matter that will keep youngsters engaged for long periods of time and perhaps inspire one or two bee advocates to help this species survive. This one would be a good addition to a classroom library because of how interlinked all of the lifeforms described on its pages seem to be. As scientists have come to realize, remove one species or one plant, and the others may disappear as well.

[Jinghan]

Non-fiction: If You Love Honey: Nature’s Connections by Sullivan, Martha
Fiction: The Thing About Bees: A Love Letter
The fiction book The Thing About Bees: A Love Letter talks about the importance of the bees. Without bees, we might not have various delicious food. Through the book, students will gain some basic information about bees and honey, and students will know that bees can pollinate crops. The book If You Love Honey: Nature’s Connections will provide students more specific facts about bees and honey, it not only explains how bees make honey, but also traces bees to dandelions, then to ladybugs, then to dandelions, and so on. Through this book, we know that natural creatures and plants are connected.
Possible content area crossover: Science
Interactive strategy: K-W-L Chart
• Create a K-W-L chart
• Read The Thing About Bees: A Love Letter
• Have students brainstorm any facts they knew about bees
• Record students’ answers in the K column
• Discuss what they want to know about bees and honey
• Record students’ questions and opinions in the W column
• Read If You Love Honey: Nature’s Connections
• Have students discuss whether their questions be answered
• Ask students: What did you learn from the book?
• Record students’ answers in the L column

References:
Camp, D. (2000). It takes two: Teaching with twin texts of fact and fiction. The Reading Teacher, 53(5), 400-408.
Larkin, S. (2019). The thing about bees: A love letter. San Francisco, CA: Readers to Eaters.
Sullivan, M. (2015). If you love honey: Nature's connections. Nevada, CA: Dawn Publications.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative with super cute illustrations. good science lesson

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

IF YOU LOVE HONEY by Martha Sullivan is an amazing informational science picture exploring connections in nature.

Each page of the story begins with some variation of “if you love…, then you…”. Readers are taken through a series of connected flora and fauna starting with honey and ending with children at a picnic. Supplemental information on each page describes the importance of each aspect of nature including insects, birds, and soils.

In addition to the narrative, readers will enjoy additional information and activities at the end of the book including an I-Spy game; information about pollination and honey; and bee activities.

While many science books for children focus on a single topic or gloss over the big picture, this beautifully illustrated picture book manages to pack in dozens of essential science concepts into an engaging narrative.

Librarians will find lots of connections to the science curriculum. Use this book to kick off an exploration for each of the creatures in the story. Create a display that includes nonfiction books on bees and honey.

To download activities to accompany the book, go to http://www.dawnpub.com/activities/honey/.

Published by Dawn Publications on September 1, 2015.