Bees on the Roof

by Robbie Shell

Sam needs to find a seventh-grade science fair project and a way to save the restaurant where his father works. When he enrolls three friends in an effort to raise bees on a hotel roof in New York City, the complications multiply. Bee sting allergies, a great bee die-off, a rival team's cheating, a mysteriously reclusive science teacher, and Sam's romantic feelings for a classmate make the bee project anything but simple. This story includes lots of facts about bees and Colony Collapse Disorder.

Genres: Middle Grade

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Robbie Shell, a former business journalist and co-author of a book on leadership, turned her attention to honeybees when her brother, a beekeeper, brought her jars of honey harvested from his backyard hives. Totally enthralled by the teamwork and efficiency displayed by these tiny pollinators, she left her job as a business editor/writer and wrote “Bees on the Roof.” The middle-grade environmental fiction novel tells the story of four seventh graders competing in a science competition but also educates young readers about the importance of honeybees to our environment and the dangers they face from the still mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder. Robbie grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Charlottesville, Va., Boston, Mass., New York City and Washington, D.C. She and her husband now live in Philadelphia, where they raised their two sons. She has never been stung by a honeybee. (Wasps are a different story.)

Reviews

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid young reader book but there was a lot going on in terms of different plots. It wasn't confusing or hard to follow. It just wasn't as well-written as it could have been for a more seamless story.

[LitPick Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam is having a rough time. His father is moody and distracted, a sharp contrast from his usual demeanor, and the school bullies have challenged Sam and his three friends, Matt, Ellie, and Tristen to a competition in the form of the school science fair. His life becomes even worse when he finds out why his father is acting so odd. Sam’s father is a pastry chef at a local hotel, but the hotel is not doing well, threatening his father’s job and their home. If Sam’s father loses his job, they will have to move, possibly to a different city or even state! Sam and his friends come up with an idea that could win the science fair and save his father’s job. They can raise bees on the hotel’s roof, giving the honey to the hotel! Can four middle schoolers become beekeepers? A lot is at stake.

Opinion:
Bees on the Roof is an inspiring story of four potential beekeepers. The underlying theme of the story is that you are never too young to make a difference. This is a wonderful book with a clear and interesting plot. It inspires people to make a change in their lifestyle, helping create a more sustainable environment. The story is enjoyable and informative but mixes the two so well that it is not choppy. Robbie Shell has accomplished quite a feat with Bees on the Roof.

[Tynea Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bees on the Roof is a book about a boy named Sam. Sam gets bee hives for a 7th grade science project. He and his three friends work together to raise the bees and save the restaurant where his father works. Bee allergies and problems with the hive cause so much trouble that Sam doesn’t know what to do. Will he fail his project? Will he have to take down the bee hives?

Bees on the Roof is an amazing book stuffed with true facts about bees. Even though the author, Robbie Shell, had lots of facts about bees, it didn’t seem like a non-fiction book. She made up realistic characters with traits that made them seem like real people. This had an impact on the book for me because I don’t like books with fantasy characters. The author made me wonder what happened to the characters at the end of the book. Something that I didn’t like was that the chapters were so short. It made me feel like the author was rushing onto the next chapter. During the beginning of the book I found myself daydreaming, but closer to the end I didn’t want to stop reading. I liked the ending of the book because it connected to the beginning very nicely. I would recommend this book to kids ages 8-10 because of the simple vocabulary and the short chapters.

[Wick Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seventh grader Sam starts bee colonies on the city roof of the restaurant/hotel where his father works. His teammates help him, and his rivals challenge him. He is trying to slow the changes in his and his father’s life since his mother passed away. The urban setting feels real adding to a hardness in the sequence in Sam's moving on.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam and his dad Nick have recently moved to New York City. Sam’s dad has taken the job of head pastry chef at a fancy restaurant, the Bella Vista in The Meadows Hotel. With the job comes an apartment on the top floor. Sam is lucky enough to attend the Manhattan School for Science and with the start of the winter semester, Sam and his friends Ella, Matt and Tristan must think of a theme for their seventh grade science project. This year there is an added bonus where the winning team will go to Washington D.C., so the team has to think of something good. With the help of a newspaper article about colony collapse disorder and the news that the Bella Vista may soon be out of business, Sam comes up with an idea that will be great for his team and hopefully help his dad- bees! The Bee team proposes the idea to set up hives on the roof of the hotel and study the bees, with the extra honey going to the Bella Vista kitchen. However, The Bee Team will be up against some stiff competition and will have to overcome many obstacles taking care of live bees.

This is a wonderful middle-grade environmental fiction novel that I know I would have enjoyed reading just as much in middle school as I did now. With a focus on colony collapse disorder within honeybee hives, Bees on the Roof brings a current and relevant issue to middle grade readers. With the seventh-grade science project that the team completes, kids are encouraged that they can be influential helpful within the scientific community. There was a lot of great factual information on bees in general, the problems they are facing, Colony Collapse Disorder and how to set up and maintain a hive. I enjoyed that common issues were brought up including cost, stings and potential hive failure. Each of the characters- Sam, Matt, Ella and Tristan are relatable and is going through their own personal issues; the team must overcome a budding romance, cheating, family issues and medical issues while working on their project. It was great to see each character have a different scientific interest as well whether it is engineering, computer science, math or biology and how they made all their specialties work together. My only complaints were that the romance was a little heavy for an environmental fiction book taking place in seventh grade, it didn’t interfere too much, but if I was a seventh-grader reading this I may have felt a little behind the curve; also, I didn’t like the way the cheating scandal was handled, although it worked out fine in the end.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.