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Give Bees a Chance
by
From the author-illustrator of Children's Choice Book Award Winner I'm Trying to Love Spiders a plea to please give bees a chance!
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 importan ...more
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 importan ...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
April 25th 2017
by Viking Books for Young Readers
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Feb 09, 2019
La Coccinelle
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children,
non-fiction
I wish I'd had this book when I got stung by a bee when I was a kid. It might've helped to alleviate some of my fears about being stung again.
Despite the illustrations being quite stylized, they're also informative. Readers get to see the basic anatomy of a bee. There are also illustrations and little blurbs about various species of bee at the front and back of the book. The "story" is told as someone trying to reassure their friend who got stung by a bee once and now wants nothing to do with th ...more
Despite the illustrations being quite stylized, they're also informative. Readers get to see the basic anatomy of a bee. There are also illustrations and little blurbs about various species of bee at the front and back of the book. The "story" is told as someone trying to reassure their friend who got stung by a bee once and now wants nothing to do with th ...more


Check out more Picture book reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...
"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!)." ...more

Featured in today's grandma reads session. . . .
Bees are all the rage around our family these days. A couple of our families have taken up beekeeping with some of our younger set joining in. One looking for room to spread out has even moved a hive this week into my backyard full of flowers, grapes, blueberries, abundant cherry tree (you should hear the happy birds!) and other goodies. So a book with simple, basic educational facts sprinkled with engaging and sweet artwork was very well-received ...more
Bees are all the rage around our family these days. A couple of our families have taken up beekeeping with some of our younger set joining in. One looking for room to spread out has even moved a hive this week into my backyard full of flowers, grapes, blueberries, abundant cherry tree (you should hear the happy birds!) and other goodies. So a book with simple, basic educational facts sprinkled with engaging and sweet artwork was very well-received ...more

Informative, cute, and very funny! This children's book about the importance of bees is written in a casual, factual, and humorous manner. "Best-buddy-Edgar" is a hoot (as he 'doesn't really like bees,' and needs a lot of convincing!).
Fictional characters explore a non-fiction topic that is very timely: bee populations are declining worldwide.
The author is also the illustrator; on the title page at the end of the book, she has this to say about her multimedia art:
"The artwork in this book was r ...more
Fictional characters explore a non-fiction topic that is very timely: bee populations are declining worldwide.
The author is also the illustrator; on the title page at the end of the book, she has this to say about her multimedia art:
"The artwork in this book was r ...more

LOVED this new picture book! It is such a fun way to share the "bee love" and teach kids (and adults) not to be scared of them, but to appreciate their "wonderfulness"! It's funny, it's short, it's teachability at it's best! Don't miss this fabulous way to learn about and share the love of bees!
...more

Give Bees a Chance is witty and humorous nonfiction book written by Bethany Barton. Playing on the fears of a young boy being stung by a bee, Bethany Barton creates dialog between the bee victim and his friend as the latter tries to convince the reader that bees are, in fact, super cool and not at all terrifying. Barton has a talent for turning a nonfiction book into a performance by creating a comic book feel with pages lined with text bubbles filled with onamonapia, hilarious labels, and, of c
...more

The narrator of this book introduces the reader to his best friend Edgar. The two love all the same things except bees, Edgar just does not like bees, and especially not their stingers or sacs of venom, not after being stung (an event that is humorously depicted along). The narrator is crazy about bees, and begins a campaign to convince Edgar to change how he views bees, all 25,000 kinds of bees. Barton's illustrations may be characteristically cartoonish, but don't let that fool you. She has in
...more

Because our most memorable interactions with bees usually end in pain, author Bethany Barton has set herself quite a challenge in making bees interesting and appealing, but Give Bees a Chance is an engaging picture book that will help young readers understand and appreciate bees. The facts here are tantalizingly revealed as a friend tries to convince his pal that bees are more than just conveyors of stings. The large drawings and informal font make Give Bees a Chance seem lighter than it would a
...more

Aug 08, 2017
Sandy Brehl
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
multi-age,
series,
picture-book,
realistic-current,
curiosity,
science,
very-young,
plants,
teaching-resource,
concepts
An outstanding addition to this budding series, with more to come (I hope). This is an ideal mentor text for writers of any age offering an unmistakable interactive voice, clever depiction of cause/effect, accessible science development, myth-busting, and gloriously colorful but accurate illustrations with clearly labeled and intriguing examples of many of the 200 bee varieties.

Funny and informative. My second grader's sincere praise: "Now my fear of bees is only in-the-middle!"
...more

Feb 05, 2018
June
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
bee/insect requests
Recommended to June by:
DCPL CSWG
Shelves:
picture-book,
non-fiction
Fun/humorous non-fiction picture book, that has one friend explaining to another why bees are important and that they need help.
Maybe more of a 3.5
Maybe more of a 3.5

And now there's the terrific non-fiction Give Bees A Chance, that tells how bees work, how many species there are (about 25,000) and how honey is created. The front and back endpapers are illustrated with some of those species. Bethany Barton is a wonderful storyteller and illustrator who's given spiders a chance in the earlier "I'm Trying To Love Spiders", and now she's created a clever introduction to all things about bees. In cartoon drawings, the unseen narrator talks to the scared-of-bees p
...more

Brief summary: Despite bee stingers and how scary they are, this book will help you all in love with bees, or at least appreciate them more and fear them less. This book covers everything from how to avoid being stung to how honey is made to why bees need our help. Even bee enthusiasts will probably pick up a new fact or two. It's a super fun and informative read for ages four to eight.
What I love about this book: I love Bethany Barton's lively conversational tone and her ability to persuade the ...more
What I love about this book: I love Bethany Barton's lively conversational tone and her ability to persuade the ...more

This book, Give Bees a Chance, was such a fun and informative book to read. For anyone who is afraid of bees this is the book to read. The author is trying to inform people about bees and that they are not so scary. The author also has other books similar, such as I'm Trying to Love Spiders. For anyone who is afraid of things such as bees or spiders I would read this authors collection of books.
Description: This book informs you that bees are not scary and you definitely don't have to run away ...more
Description: This book informs you that bees are not scary and you definitely don't have to run away ...more

This book is about a boy, named Edgar trying to convince his friend that he should like bees because they have a great impact. Edgar informed his friend a lot of cool and different facts about bees, like the fact that they have 5 eyes. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book because it was informational, but funny as well. I particularly liked the page that showed how honey was made because of the diagram. I would use this book when teaching my students about nonfiction books and nonfiction
...more

From the author who wrote I'm Trying To Love Spiders. It's so important now for bees to stay alive and well. There are many facts and information in this book to show how bees are responsible for a variety of fruit and flower bearing plants. I had no idea there were this many species of bees. And just like how spiders are important we need to take care of the bees as well. There's no reason to be afraid of bees, just stay still and blow gently on them to fly away, even if you are allergic to bee
...more

I've been seeing the most gorgeous assortment of books about bees buzzing around Bookstagram lately so we picked this one up to check out!! We love nonfiction books about animals over here! Give Bees a Chance, written and illustrated by @bethanybarton is absolutely incredible. Combining stunning watercolor backgrounds, adorably illustrated bees, and walking a little boy through his fear of bees by teaching him how amazing they are, even teaching me some fascinating new facts about bees, it excee
...more

The narrator tries to convince a scared kid who has been stung before “Couldn’t you still give bees a chance?”
The book presents all the “cool” things about bees: “Their weird and cool” anatomy or the fact that “Honey from bees was found in Egyptian tombs.” The narrator points out how bees are good for our environment and gives advice on how not to get stung. Finally, the kid is convinced that we need bees in the world.
A great book to launch a lesson on persuasive writing.
The book presents all the “cool” things about bees: “Their weird and cool” anatomy or the fact that “Honey from bees was found in Egyptian tombs.” The narrator points out how bees are good for our environment and gives advice on how not to get stung. Finally, the kid is convinced that we need bees in the world.
A great book to launch a lesson on persuasive writing.

I can see why kids will really like this. I love the illustrations and approach to content. I can see how this will appeal on a lot of levels and be useful in many classrooms. I can see why it will appeal to kids for 2nd-5th grade and it doesn't disappoint after last year's Children's Choice win for I'm Trying to Love Spiders.
...more

Pair with I (Don't) Like Snakes by N. Davies.
...more

This book addresses the fear some kids might have of bees because they were stung once or they fear they will be if they get too close to bees. I appreciate the idea of trying to convince the reader that bees are important. I appreciate the idea of trying to show the reader ways of not being stung and explaining why bees sting. Bu I think the book tries to include too much information in the minds of kids, all at once. Kids don't necessarily have to learn it all from one book. I think this book
...more

Author and illustrator: Bethany Barton
Reading Level: 3.6
Book Level: Lower Grades
Summary: The narrator attempts to convince his best buddy that bees are not bad and he should give them a chance.
Classroom Use: In the classroom I would use this book to teach organizing their writing through dialogue of the characters. This book shows students how they can use the voice of different characters to organize their writing by having the characters have a conversation. I really like that one characters ...more
Reading Level: 3.6
Book Level: Lower Grades
Summary: The narrator attempts to convince his best buddy that bees are not bad and he should give them a chance.
Classroom Use: In the classroom I would use this book to teach organizing their writing through dialogue of the characters. This book shows students how they can use the voice of different characters to organize their writing by having the characters have a conversation. I really like that one characters ...more

Sep 02, 2017
Arminzerella
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
bees,
nature,
funny,
borrowed-from-the-library,
picture-books,
science,
juvenile-nonfiction,
insects
This informational picture book about bees discusses bee facts (mainly honeybees) and their importance while attempting to reassure its audience that bees are not terrifying or mean. Whenever Edgar (the main character who isn’t sure about bees) gets a bit panicky, the narrator backs up and reminds him that he can “blow gently on bees to make them scatter.” The bees retreat and their story can continue. This is a positive introduction to bees that gets all of its facts right and will interest eve
...more

The author tries to convince her friend Edgar to love bees as much as she does. She gives interesting facts and cool trivia to persuade him to give bees a chance. For example, did you know that bees have a special stomach to store nectar until they pass it on to the next bee by barfing in their mouths? It's true, and the nectar has to be passed multiple times before it's ready to be barfed into a honeycomb cell and sealed shut with beeswax. Cool, huh?
...more

I didn't know bees have 5 eyes and 2 stomachs, and "four wings that lock together for flying, then come apart for easy storage."
Drawings detail bees' features, including numerous species on the endpapers. Author's note admits some artistic license in some of the images within the book.
There seems to be a new genre emerging in which the reader is invited to look closer and learn about animals of which one is wary or afraid (example: "Yucky Worms" by Vivian French).
...more
Drawings detail bees' features, including numerous species on the endpapers. Author's note admits some artistic license in some of the images within the book.
There seems to be a new genre emerging in which the reader is invited to look closer and learn about animals of which one is wary or afraid (example: "Yucky Worms" by Vivian French).
...more

I appreciate how interesting and informative this book is. Like her "I'm Trying to Love Spiders" book, this book contains fun and colorful illustrations and is chock full of facts about bees. While it's a picture book, I think it would appeal to kids of all ages because everyone seems to have a story about their encounters with bees. I especially liked the author's description of honey as "bee barf"; I think I had heard that before but it was a fun reminder!
...more
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