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Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera
Get up close and personal with Apis, one honeybee, as she embarks on her journey through life, complete with exquisitely detailed illustrations.
Beginning at birth, the honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell and is driven to protect and take care of her hive. She cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!
She builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. Apis accomplishes all of this before beginning her life outdoors as an adventurer, seeking nectar to bring back to her hive.
Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann describe the life cycle of the hard-working honeybee in this poetically written, thoroughly researched picture book, similar in form and concept to the Sibert and Orbis Pictus award book Giant Squid, complete with stunning gatefold and an essay on the plight of honeybees.
A Junior Library Guild Selection!
Beginning at birth, the honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell and is driven to protect and take care of her hive. She cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!
She builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. Apis accomplishes all of this before beginning her life outdoors as an adventurer, seeking nectar to bring back to her hive.
Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann describe the life cycle of the hard-working honeybee in this poetically written, thoroughly researched picture book, similar in form and concept to the Sibert and Orbis Pictus award book Giant Squid, complete with stunning gatefold and an essay on the plight of honeybees.
A Junior Library Guild Selection!
40 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2020
25 people are currently reading
1117 people want to read
About the author
Candace Fleming
72 books643 followersI have always been a storyteller. Even before I could write my name, I could tell a good tale. And I told them all the time. As a preschooler, I told my neighbors all about my three-legged cat named Spot. In kindergarten, I told my classmates about the ghost that lived in my attic. And in first grade I told my teacher, Miss Harbart, all about my family's trip to Paris, France.
I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.
Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calling my stories "fibs" they called them "imaginative." They encouraged me to put my stories down on paper. I did. And amazingly, once I began writing, I couldn't stop. I filled notebook after notebook with stories, poems, plays. I still have many of those notebooks. They're precious to me because they are a record of my writing life from elementary school on.
In second grade, I discovered a passion for language. I can still remember the day my teacher, Miss Johnson, held up a horn-shaped basket filled with papier-mache pumpkins and asked the class to repeat the word "cornucopia." I said it again and again, tasted the word on my lips. I tested it on my ears. That afternoon, I skipped all the way home from school chanting, "Cornucopia! Cornucopia!" From then on, I really began listening to words—to the sounds they made, and the way they were used, and how they made me feel. I longed to put them together in ways that were beautiful, and yet told a story.
As I grew, I continued to write stories. But I never really thought of becoming an author. Instead, I went to college where I discovered yet another passion—history. I didn't realize it then, but studying history is really just an extension of my love of stories. After all, some of the best stories are true ones — tales of heroism and villainy made more incredible by the fact they really happened.
After graduation, I got married and had children. I read to them a lot, and that's when I discovered the joy and music of children's books. I simply couldn't get enough of them. With my two sons in tow, I made endless trips to the library. I read stacks of books. I found myself begging, "Just one more, pleeeeease!" while my boys begged for lights-out and sleep. Then it struck me. Why not write children's books? It seemed the perfect way to combine all the things I loved: stories, musical language, history, and reading. I couldn't wait to get started.
But writing children's books is harder than it looks. For three years I wrote story after story. I sent them to publisher after publisher. And I received rejection letter after rejection letter. Still, I didn't give up. I kept trying until finally one of my stories was pulled from the slush pile and turned into a book. My career as a children's author had begun.
I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.
Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calling my stories "fibs" they called them "imaginative." They encouraged me to put my stories down on paper. I did. And amazingly, once I began writing, I couldn't stop. I filled notebook after notebook with stories, poems, plays. I still have many of those notebooks. They're precious to me because they are a record of my writing life from elementary school on.
In second grade, I discovered a passion for language. I can still remember the day my teacher, Miss Johnson, held up a horn-shaped basket filled with papier-mache pumpkins and asked the class to repeat the word "cornucopia." I said it again and again, tasted the word on my lips. I tested it on my ears. That afternoon, I skipped all the way home from school chanting, "Cornucopia! Cornucopia!" From then on, I really began listening to words—to the sounds they made, and the way they were used, and how they made me feel. I longed to put them together in ways that were beautiful, and yet told a story.
As I grew, I continued to write stories. But I never really thought of becoming an author. Instead, I went to college where I discovered yet another passion—history. I didn't realize it then, but studying history is really just an extension of my love of stories. After all, some of the best stories are true ones — tales of heroism and villainy made more incredible by the fact they really happened.
After graduation, I got married and had children. I read to them a lot, and that's when I discovered the joy and music of children's books. I simply couldn't get enough of them. With my two sons in tow, I made endless trips to the library. I read stacks of books. I found myself begging, "Just one more, pleeeeease!" while my boys begged for lights-out and sleep. Then it struck me. Why not write children's books? It seemed the perfect way to combine all the things I loved: stories, musical language, history, and reading. I couldn't wait to get started.
But writing children's books is harder than it looks. For three years I wrote story after story. I sent them to publisher after publisher. And I received rejection letter after rejection letter. Still, I didn't give up. I kept trying until finally one of my stories was pulled from the slush pile and turned into a book. My career as a children's author had begun.
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July 9, 2022
Most people sitting down to dinner don't realize the important role honeybees played in preparing that meal. Here's a surprising fact: one out of every three mouthfuls in the American diet is, in some way, a product of honeybee pollination--from fruits to nuts to vegetables.
I always knew that bees were important, but this fact really got my attention. This book is incredible. The artwork by Eric Rohmann truly gives a close up look at the honey bee and the hive where life begins. And the text by Candace Fleming provides so many great facts within the text. By the end of her life, Apis Mellifera has visited thirty thousand flowers, collected enough nectar to make one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey. That is why we need so many honey bees! At the back of the book there is a detailed diagram of a honey bee with all the parts labeled and explained as well as a section entitled "Helping Out Honeybees." We can all help out by planting bee-friendly flowers like cone flowers (I have some in my yard.) and buying honey produced locally.
I always knew that bees were important, but this fact really got my attention. This book is incredible. The artwork by Eric Rohmann truly gives a close up look at the honey bee and the hive where life begins. And the text by Candace Fleming provides so many great facts within the text. By the end of her life, Apis Mellifera has visited thirty thousand flowers, collected enough nectar to make one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey. That is why we need so many honey bees! At the back of the book there is a detailed diagram of a honey bee with all the parts labeled and explained as well as a section entitled "Helping Out Honeybees." We can all help out by planting bee-friendly flowers like cone flowers (I have some in my yard.) and buying honey produced locally.
February 7, 2020
I don’t teach classes on how to write children’s books. I imagine that doing such a thing would be enormously challenging and rewarding, depending on the people involved. Still, that doesn’t stop me from sometimes coming up with a list of writing rules for my class of imaginary students. And as I found myself reading Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera I found myself coming up with an entirely new rule I'd never thought of before: No subject has ever truly been done to death. I mean it. Honeybees, after all, are basically the Abraham Lincoln bios of science and nature informational picture books. They’re ubiquitous. So much so that a person could be fooled into thinking that we’ve seen everything a book of bees could offer. That’s why great writing for kids, when you encounter it, reminds you that there is always a new way to look at this old, familiar world of ours. If you buy only one bee book for the rest of your life, make it this one.
A bee emerges. Pulls itself out of a cell for one into “a teeming, trembling flurry.” Since her scientific name is Apis mellifera we’ll call her Apis, but that is where the anthropomorphization ends. Apis eats, dries, then sets to work. She has wings, but does she fly? No, first she must tend to the larvae, tend to the queen, build combs, process food, and guard the hive. And then? Then? Then will she fly? She will. And she’ll work continually until, on the thirty-fifth day she will lie still at last. And exactly at that precise moment, a new bee pushes out of her cell to start the cycle all over again. Backmatter includes a two-page diagram of the different parts of a honeybee, additional information, a definition of terms, online resources, and a Bibliography of kid-friendly bee books.
Why, you might ask, is this bee books heads and tails the best you’ll ever see? What does it do that no other book of its kind has accomplished before? Well, to be frank, most bee books are interested in the individual bee and its role in producing honey. These books essentially are saying, “Okay, bee. What’s in it for me? What are you doing to improve MY life?” Honeybee has a slightly different take. We do follow one bee, from birth to death and everything in between, but even with our focus centered so tightly on this one individual, it’s quite clear from the get-go that this is not a place where individuality flourishes. The colony is as much a character as dear Apis here. Moreover, while I knew that different bees had different jobs, I never realized that one bee could switch between many different jobs in the course of its short life. Nor did I really have a clear sense of what each of her jobs might entail. Add in the hyperrealistic beauty of Eric Rohmann’s art, and you have a bee book that stands apart from the pack not merely because it’s full of top-notch writing but because its illustrations just drink in the subject matter.
It took me a little while to realize it, but Candace Fleming plays by the rules. By this I mean she is capable of writing an informational picture book without filling it to the brim with fictional elements. I’m actually a lot more lenient towards fiction-like insertions in my nonfiction picture books when the topic is science rather than history. If you want to put in speech bubbles and googly eyes and nutty concepts where planets are talking on the phone or cells have individual personalities, go for it. In the case of Honeybee, Fleming does utilize one tool from her fiction toolbox: An engaging narrative. To set the scene, the author follows one average bee, giving her the name of her species, but what really caught my attention was how Fleming actually manages to make a book of facts privy to rising tension. The book is constant badgering you. Peppering you with little hints that maybe after accomplishing this new job, THIS time “Apis” will fly. By the time flying really does take place, you are rewarded with a grandiose gatefold that somehow manages to feel cathartic and awe-inspiring all at once. Yet nothing about that image would hit home as hard as it does had Ms. Fleming’s words not done their duty. She provides the set-up. Eric Rohmann gives you the payoff.
Speaking of Eric Rohmann, how ‘bout that guy, eh? Last time I saw him on the picture book circuit he was bringing giant squids to life. From these enormous creatures he’s scaled way way down. Not that you’d necessarily know it. These lush oil paints (scrupulously fact-checked by bee and pollination expert Dr. Mark L. Winston) appear on pages that clock in at 11.75 inches tall by 10 inches wide. The distance at which you would usually find a bee no longer exists. You feel almost unsafe, coming into this close a contact with these Apis melliferas. In one picture the head takes up the better part of two full pages, Rohmann carefully centering the gutter of the book right between the insect’s antennae. I imagine using this book with a group of kids, encouraging them to “pet” the bee as it works. The artist also takes care to change directions and perspectives throughout the story. There’s the aforementioned gatefold of the bee flying for the first time, and not long thereafter an overhead shot of the bee on top of an enormous purple coneflower, stretching out like a particularly lovely landing pad. Rohmann imbues his painting with what honestly feels like care and love. I imagine some child just poring over these huge images, feeling like they could dive into one scene or another. Dive in and maybe stay there. Could you blame them?
When I was a child I remember watching an episode of 3-2-1 Contact where a sedate bee sips sugar water while someone gently strokes its back. I have always had an inordinate fear of bees, but there was something so gentle and comforting in that image. The bee couldn’t have cared less about the human, but seeing it not object either was calming to me. I think around that age a book like Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera would have been very welcome to me. I just combed through the professional reviews of this book to see if anyone’s already used the word “lush” in conjunction with it. No one? Then let it be me. Lush and luscious even, this art’s a showstopper and Fleming’s text, let me remind you, reminds you that no topic is ever truly overdone. Not when you have masters of the form bringing it to life in an entirely new, and yet wholly accurate, way. This is the bee book we’ve all been waiting for. We just hadn’t met it yet.
For ages 3-10.
On shelves now.
A bee emerges. Pulls itself out of a cell for one into “a teeming, trembling flurry.” Since her scientific name is Apis mellifera we’ll call her Apis, but that is where the anthropomorphization ends. Apis eats, dries, then sets to work. She has wings, but does she fly? No, first she must tend to the larvae, tend to the queen, build combs, process food, and guard the hive. And then? Then? Then will she fly? She will. And she’ll work continually until, on the thirty-fifth day she will lie still at last. And exactly at that precise moment, a new bee pushes out of her cell to start the cycle all over again. Backmatter includes a two-page diagram of the different parts of a honeybee, additional information, a definition of terms, online resources, and a Bibliography of kid-friendly bee books.
Why, you might ask, is this bee books heads and tails the best you’ll ever see? What does it do that no other book of its kind has accomplished before? Well, to be frank, most bee books are interested in the individual bee and its role in producing honey. These books essentially are saying, “Okay, bee. What’s in it for me? What are you doing to improve MY life?” Honeybee has a slightly different take. We do follow one bee, from birth to death and everything in between, but even with our focus centered so tightly on this one individual, it’s quite clear from the get-go that this is not a place where individuality flourishes. The colony is as much a character as dear Apis here. Moreover, while I knew that different bees had different jobs, I never realized that one bee could switch between many different jobs in the course of its short life. Nor did I really have a clear sense of what each of her jobs might entail. Add in the hyperrealistic beauty of Eric Rohmann’s art, and you have a bee book that stands apart from the pack not merely because it’s full of top-notch writing but because its illustrations just drink in the subject matter.
It took me a little while to realize it, but Candace Fleming plays by the rules. By this I mean she is capable of writing an informational picture book without filling it to the brim with fictional elements. I’m actually a lot more lenient towards fiction-like insertions in my nonfiction picture books when the topic is science rather than history. If you want to put in speech bubbles and googly eyes and nutty concepts where planets are talking on the phone or cells have individual personalities, go for it. In the case of Honeybee, Fleming does utilize one tool from her fiction toolbox: An engaging narrative. To set the scene, the author follows one average bee, giving her the name of her species, but what really caught my attention was how Fleming actually manages to make a book of facts privy to rising tension. The book is constant badgering you. Peppering you with little hints that maybe after accomplishing this new job, THIS time “Apis” will fly. By the time flying really does take place, you are rewarded with a grandiose gatefold that somehow manages to feel cathartic and awe-inspiring all at once. Yet nothing about that image would hit home as hard as it does had Ms. Fleming’s words not done their duty. She provides the set-up. Eric Rohmann gives you the payoff.
Speaking of Eric Rohmann, how ‘bout that guy, eh? Last time I saw him on the picture book circuit he was bringing giant squids to life. From these enormous creatures he’s scaled way way down. Not that you’d necessarily know it. These lush oil paints (scrupulously fact-checked by bee and pollination expert Dr. Mark L. Winston) appear on pages that clock in at 11.75 inches tall by 10 inches wide. The distance at which you would usually find a bee no longer exists. You feel almost unsafe, coming into this close a contact with these Apis melliferas. In one picture the head takes up the better part of two full pages, Rohmann carefully centering the gutter of the book right between the insect’s antennae. I imagine using this book with a group of kids, encouraging them to “pet” the bee as it works. The artist also takes care to change directions and perspectives throughout the story. There’s the aforementioned gatefold of the bee flying for the first time, and not long thereafter an overhead shot of the bee on top of an enormous purple coneflower, stretching out like a particularly lovely landing pad. Rohmann imbues his painting with what honestly feels like care and love. I imagine some child just poring over these huge images, feeling like they could dive into one scene or another. Dive in and maybe stay there. Could you blame them?
When I was a child I remember watching an episode of 3-2-1 Contact where a sedate bee sips sugar water while someone gently strokes its back. I have always had an inordinate fear of bees, but there was something so gentle and comforting in that image. The bee couldn’t have cared less about the human, but seeing it not object either was calming to me. I think around that age a book like Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera would have been very welcome to me. I just combed through the professional reviews of this book to see if anyone’s already used the word “lush” in conjunction with it. No one? Then let it be me. Lush and luscious even, this art’s a showstopper and Fleming’s text, let me remind you, reminds you that no topic is ever truly overdone. Not when you have masters of the form bringing it to life in an entirely new, and yet wholly accurate, way. This is the bee book we’ve all been waiting for. We just hadn’t met it yet.
For ages 3-10.
On shelves now.
January 21, 2026
"The new bee rests. Soft, fuzzy, and female - like all newly emerged worker bees..."We follow the life of Apis Mellifera (the scientific name for the honey bee, Apis for short in this book). From the minute she first emerges from her cozy honeycomb to when she finds her final resting spot.
Along the way we learn about how female worker bees have specific jobs based on how old they are. For example, Apis's first job is to clean up the bee nursery but after three days, she transitions to taking care of the bee larva.
At eight days old, she gets a new job.
We continue through Apis's jobs - learning about the circle of life for a bee and figuring out all about the secret lives of bees.
"The queen doesn't have time to take care of herself. So Apis and the other groom her with their forelegs...feed her a drop of sweet brood food..."
The illustrations were really solid in this one - I was continually impressed by the realism and detail shown for all of the bees!
I think the author does a great job of balancing the narrative with the facts - I was fascinated throughout. I had no idea that their lives were so regimented and short. (The ending is solid, a bit sad but more sweet than sad because we have the next round of bees for the hive).
July 28, 2025
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera
by Candace Fleming
This is so well written that no matter what age you are, 9-95, it captivates and delights the lucky reader or listener. The information is given to entertain but also inform the reader of the life and society of the honeybees by following one bee named Apis from emerging from her cell until Apis' end.
The artwork is incredible! Just stunning! It makes the life of Apis come alive!
by Candace Fleming
This is so well written that no matter what age you are, 9-95, it captivates and delights the lucky reader or listener. The information is given to entertain but also inform the reader of the life and society of the honeybees by following one bee named Apis from emerging from her cell until Apis' end.
The artwork is incredible! Just stunning! It makes the life of Apis come alive!
January 23, 2021
Well, this was very educational in the best way possible.
February 8, 2021
3.5 stars, well done story about the short life of a honeybee. Those in the ag or honeybee industry will want to see and share this one.
Before you read or share this with your students or children, have them predict how long before a honeybee flies, how long before they die? The answers may surprise them.
Before you read or share this with your students or children, have them predict how long before a honeybee flies, how long before they die? The answers may surprise them.
February 2, 2021
Another stunning contribution by one of the power couples in Children's books. Never thought I'd shed tears at the end of an insect biography.
February 11, 2020
I wonder how many fiction and non-fiction books created for children were produced in the last 50 years. Dozens? Hundreds? Honeybees are quite the favorite subject. This title is something entirely unique. It is 100% non-fiction with the most glorious, detailed illustrations of honeybees you have ever seen. Plus it is fascinating and fun. Kudos to Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann. A perfect author/illustrator collaboration. You guys nailed it.
February 26, 2021
The picture book style is attractive. Information is good and it’s a quick read. It’s worth a few minutes of your day to get informed about the honeybee.
January 1, 2024
Review to come.
September 30, 2020
Beautiful book!! This is a great nonfiction picture book about the honeybee. The illustrations are stunning (and up close). This is told in simple, easy to understand words. I also enjoyed the extra information at the end that includes a diagram of the bee and info on how we can help.
February 25, 2021
I loved this book as both a children's librarian and a nature lover and gardener. I thought I knew a lot about bees, but wow! This book taught me so much more. And at the same time, it will be easily enjoyed by the youngest readers. And those illustrations! All I can say is wow!
Read
April 7, 2021This was insanely well done and I learned so much about bees!
January 26, 2021
ALA SIBERT WINNER 2021
NCTE ORBIS PICTUS HONOR AWARD (Nonfiction) 2021
"One summer morning deep in the nest, (page turn)
a brand-new honeybee
squirms,
pushes,
chews
through the wax cap of her solitary cell and into...
a teeming, trembling flurry.
Hummmmm!"
LOVE THIS BOOK. Fleming and Rohmann have done it again!!! (Their book Giant Squid is equally beautiful, delicious to read.) Like many other authors & illustrators, they describe the life of a honeybee but they capture this narrative in such a stunningly beautiful way.
Fleming's language is rich, captivating, drawing you in. She describes each stage of the bee's life and closes (the description of that stage) with a statement that makes you wonder what's next - "On Apis's eighth day of life, she leaves the nursery. For flying?" As a reader you want to know what's next. As a reader you're probably most familiar with honeybees flying, buzzing outside in nature some place. Fleming teases you, asking "For flying?" which becomes a repeated question and develops a sense of suspense. You turn the page and see "Not yet..." and Fleming describes another stage or duty of the honeybee. (Spoiler alert -- the honeybee does finally fly and oh, it's glorious to read about!)
Rohmann's close-up, larger than life illustrations (oil paintings) are rich, too--worthy of slowing down to look closely at and make connections to Fleming's words.
DON'T SKIP THE BACK MATTER!!! There's a beautiful diagram of a honeybee with descriptions of its physical features that include fascinating details. Did you now that a row of hooks on the honeybee's back pair of wings "fit into a groove on the front pair"? There's also an essay on helping out honeybees that's well written and informative. And there's "A Bit More Buzz" with additional details written in non-narrative language--detailing the work of each type of bee (queen, workers, drones) and the two different types of dances honeybees do to pass along information. (If you're teaching guided reading, I'd take this part of the book to the guided reading table for some close reading and discussion.)
READ THIS ALOUD in grades k-5 JUST FOR THE JOY!!! And then read aloud again, stopping to encourage student-led discussions about questions like -
*What did you learn on this page--from the words and the illustration?
*Why is the honeybee's work (described in this section) important to the hive?
*What are words we can use to describe the life (the work, the role) of the honeybee? What in the book makes you think that word is a good one to use?
*How does Fleming use the repeated question "Flying?" and the phrase "Not yet" to develop suspense? Or to develop the narrative? What does that do for the telling of the honeybee's life?
NCTE ORBIS PICTUS HONOR AWARD (Nonfiction) 2021
"One summer morning deep in the nest, (page turn)
a brand-new honeybee
squirms,
pushes,
chews
through the wax cap of her solitary cell and into...
a teeming, trembling flurry.
Hummmmm!"
LOVE THIS BOOK. Fleming and Rohmann have done it again!!! (Their book Giant Squid is equally beautiful, delicious to read.) Like many other authors & illustrators, they describe the life of a honeybee but they capture this narrative in such a stunningly beautiful way.
Fleming's language is rich, captivating, drawing you in. She describes each stage of the bee's life and closes (the description of that stage) with a statement that makes you wonder what's next - "On Apis's eighth day of life, she leaves the nursery. For flying?" As a reader you want to know what's next. As a reader you're probably most familiar with honeybees flying, buzzing outside in nature some place. Fleming teases you, asking "For flying?" which becomes a repeated question and develops a sense of suspense. You turn the page and see "Not yet..." and Fleming describes another stage or duty of the honeybee. (Spoiler alert -- the honeybee does finally fly and oh, it's glorious to read about!)
Rohmann's close-up, larger than life illustrations (oil paintings) are rich, too--worthy of slowing down to look closely at and make connections to Fleming's words.
DON'T SKIP THE BACK MATTER!!! There's a beautiful diagram of a honeybee with descriptions of its physical features that include fascinating details. Did you now that a row of hooks on the honeybee's back pair of wings "fit into a groove on the front pair"? There's also an essay on helping out honeybees that's well written and informative. And there's "A Bit More Buzz" with additional details written in non-narrative language--detailing the work of each type of bee (queen, workers, drones) and the two different types of dances honeybees do to pass along information. (If you're teaching guided reading, I'd take this part of the book to the guided reading table for some close reading and discussion.)
READ THIS ALOUD in grades k-5 JUST FOR THE JOY!!! And then read aloud again, stopping to encourage student-led discussions about questions like -
*What did you learn on this page--from the words and the illustration?
*Why is the honeybee's work (described in this section) important to the hive?
*What are words we can use to describe the life (the work, the role) of the honeybee? What in the book makes you think that word is a good one to use?
*How does Fleming use the repeated question "Flying?" and the phrase "Not yet" to develop suspense? Or to develop the narrative? What does that do for the telling of the honeybee's life?
November 30, 2020
Beginning with the initial “birth” of a honeybee, this gorgeous book takes the reader on a detailed tour of their entire lifecycle, with special focus on the worker bee. I was fascinated from start to finish, learning about how many days each job endures, the importance of each part of the bees body, how they communicate, and how long they live. The book uses a sweet bit of humor, anticipating the reader’s eagerness for the bee to fly. 🙂 The back matter shares even more detailed information, including a section of links to videos for kids to watch like stages of life HERE and an inside look at the hive’s queen, drones, and workers, including the Apis bees waggle dance HERE. The lovely artwork for this book was made using oil paint on paper.
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
December 5, 2020
Beautiful and fascinating! As a former first grade teacher, I've taught many lessons on the honeybee in preparation for field trips to the apple orchard. I want to call all of the children back for a do over featuring a read aloud of this book. I recommend reading to multiple times to savor the language and discover new delights in the illustrations.
February 9, 2020
It never ceases to amaze me much I learn about the common creatures I've taken for granted all my life when I open a spectacular picture book such as this one. It is stunning in every way, and does justice to the hardworking honeybee.
May 28, 2021
Why did this picture book about honeybees almost make me cry? All the stars.
February 28, 2023
This is a beautifully illustrated volume that tells of the life of a female honeybee.
May 17, 2021
What a beautiful book!
Eric Rohmann's illustrations are stunning. Both the story and illustrations really give a personality to "Apis". I truly felt like I was witnessing the beauty of one honeybee all throughout their life, day by day. I was invested in their story. The repetition of "flying?" when referring to the particular stage of the Apis' life really brings to mind a small child who might ask "can I do something?" yet. The large amount of backmatter in the book makes it useful for reports, while also providing tips on how to help honeybees. It is nominated for the 2022 Monarch Award (Illinois Reader's Choice). While this book is available as an ebook through Overdrive/Libby, do yourself a favor and pick up the print version so you can see the stunning illustrations in all their glory.
Eric Rohmann's illustrations are stunning. Both the story and illustrations really give a personality to "Apis". I truly felt like I was witnessing the beauty of one honeybee all throughout their life, day by day. I was invested in their story. The repetition of "flying?" when referring to the particular stage of the Apis' life really brings to mind a small child who might ask "can I do something?" yet. The large amount of backmatter in the book makes it useful for reports, while also providing tips on how to help honeybees. It is nominated for the 2022 Monarch Award (Illinois Reader's Choice). While this book is available as an ebook through Overdrive/Libby, do yourself a favor and pick up the print version so you can see the stunning illustrations in all their glory.
April 16, 2021
What a beauty. From beginning to end, this little picture book packs a powerful punch. I love when the author and illustrator are evenly matched. No wonder it’s heavily awarded.
January 14, 2021
Crafting Nonfiction Primary by Linda Hoyt is one my very most favorite absolute professional texts. I've purchased multiple copies over the years, and I no longer lend it to anyone! I could use Honeybee with most every single lesson in Crafting Nonfiction.
My public library cataloged in Dewey, but I see an argument for cataloging under E Picture Books.
My public library cataloged in Dewey, but I see an argument for cataloging under E Picture Books.
January 25, 2021
I have to admit that while I enjoy watching the bees in the garden go about their work gathering nectar, last summer I realized that I really didn't know much about the rest of a bee's life. Turns out, it is a pretty fascinating life, and presented in more than life size in Honeybee. Even before the reader gets to the title page, Apis Mellifera, Apis for short, squirms, pushes and chews her way out of a solitary cell in the hive, eats her fill from a nearby cell, and then begins her brief but busy life of the worker honeybee. For the first 18 days of her life, Apis remains in the hive doing all kinds of chores. First, there is cleaning up the hive nursery for future eggs, followed by queen tending, comb building, and food handling. On day 18 of her life, Apis has guard duty, protecting the hive against birds, bears, and other bees. Finally, on day 25, Apis is ready to fly and begins visiting flowers, sometimes miles and miles away from the home, collecting their nectar and returning to the hive with her honey. Then, Apis does a little dance that tells the other bees where she found her honey before heading out again, sometimes as often as nine times a day. As the days go by, Apis gets thinner and slower, until one day, she just drops to the ground and dies. And back at the nest, a new Apis emerges. I've read this book so many times to some of my young readers and judging by their reception of it, I would say that this is one of the most accessible picture books about bees I've ever read. It is written in straightforward, relatively simple free-verse text covering all stages and jobs of a honeybees life in much more depth than I've indicated here. I'm impressed at how much I learned about bees while reading it to my kids. The up-close-and-personal oil painted illustrations, done in shades of brown, black, and yellow, really capture even the smallest details of a honeybee and the hive. Back matter includes an illustration of the anatomy of a bee with informative labels, suggestions for helping out honeybees, and a short bibliography. This is an informative, well-done STEM book for science classes and for helping to make aware of the importance of bees in our lives, even as hive collapse is occurring.
May 17, 2021
What a beautiful book!
Eric Rohmann's illustrations are stunning. Both the story and illustrations really give a personality to "Apis". I truly felt like I was witnessing the beauty of one honeybee all throughout their life, day by day. I was invested in their story. The repetition of "flying?" when referring to the particular stage of the Apis' life really brings to mind a small child who might ask "can I do something?" yet. The large amount of backmatter in the book makes it useful for reports, while also providing tips on how to help honeybees. It is nominated for the 2022 Monarch Award (Illinois Reader's Choice). While this book is available as an ebook through Overdrive/Libby, do yourself a favor and pick up the print version so you can see the stunning illustrations in all their glory.
Reviewed by: Lisa Coleman, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library
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Eric Rohmann's illustrations are stunning. Both the story and illustrations really give a personality to "Apis". I truly felt like I was witnessing the beauty of one honeybee all throughout their life, day by day. I was invested in their story. The repetition of "flying?" when referring to the particular stage of the Apis' life really brings to mind a small child who might ask "can I do something?" yet. The large amount of backmatter in the book makes it useful for reports, while also providing tips on how to help honeybees. It is nominated for the 2022 Monarch Award (Illinois Reader's Choice). While this book is available as an ebook through Overdrive/Libby, do yourself a favor and pick up the print version so you can see the stunning illustrations in all their glory.
Reviewed by: Lisa Coleman, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library
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February 5, 2021
I honestly didn’t expect to have an emotional reaction to a picture book of up close artwork about honeybees. I wasn’t too sure I wanted to know this much detail about bees. This book was fantastic—and I’m not at all interested in insects. I picked it up based on someone else’s recommendation and would recommend it to anyone. Picture books really aren’t just for kids.
July 5, 2020
The text of this book makes for fun and engaging nonfiction. I learned more from this book than I have from any other information source on honeybees. The illustrations are amazing. The detail and beauty makes these both gorgeous and informative.
June 4, 2025
I picked up Honeybee expecting a simple, educational picture book about bees. What I got was a soul-shaking, visually stunning, tenderly written ode to purpose, family, and quiet sacrifice. I read it aloud to my daughter and ended up crying. No warning. Just me, clutching a hardcover book about a bee named Apis and whispering, “She lived a full life. She earned her rest.”
The illustrations are breathtaking — rich, reverent, and almost cinematic in scope. The text is poetic but grounded in biological detail, so children learn, but adults feel. Somehow, through the life of a single worker bee, the story manages to honor caretakers, laborers, mothers, sisters, and all who give everything they have without expecting applause.
By the end, I found myself holding my daughter close, trying to explain life, death, and fulfillment through the metaphor of a winged pollinator who did her job well and died with dignity.
This book belongs in every child’s library — and on every grown-up’s shelf. Especially the ones who give and give and give. 🐝💛
The illustrations are breathtaking — rich, reverent, and almost cinematic in scope. The text is poetic but grounded in biological detail, so children learn, but adults feel. Somehow, through the life of a single worker bee, the story manages to honor caretakers, laborers, mothers, sisters, and all who give everything they have without expecting applause.
By the end, I found myself holding my daughter close, trying to explain life, death, and fulfillment through the metaphor of a winged pollinator who did her job well and died with dignity.
This book belongs in every child’s library — and on every grown-up’s shelf. Especially the ones who give and give and give. 🐝💛
April 14, 2020
This is a picture book with gorgeous illustrations, but it is not an ordinary picture book. “Apis” becomes the bee’s first name, but the author does not anthropomorphize her. We follow this bee’s life cycle, and when her work is done, her time here (and in the book) ends matter-of-factly, without drama. And a new bee hatches.
This is a science book with gorgeous illustrations, but it is not an ordinary science book. We follow the life cycle of “Apis Mellifera” from exiting her cell as a newly hatched bee to the summer morning she drops to the ground, done with her work, and back to another new-hatching Apis.
There is a lot of accessible information on each page, both visually and in text, and for older readers, several pages at the end contain a great deal more information about honeybees’ bodies and ecology.
Note that this is probably better for a slightly older child than the 3 yr old it was intended for; the illustrations are wonderful, but there is a fair amount of text.
This is a science book with gorgeous illustrations, but it is not an ordinary science book. We follow the life cycle of “Apis Mellifera” from exiting her cell as a newly hatched bee to the summer morning she drops to the ground, done with her work, and back to another new-hatching Apis.
There is a lot of accessible information on each page, both visually and in text, and for older readers, several pages at the end contain a great deal more information about honeybees’ bodies and ecology.
Note that this is probably better for a slightly older child than the 3 yr old it was intended for; the illustrations are wonderful, but there is a fair amount of text.
January 27, 2021
I ordered "Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera" by Candace Fleming right after the ALA Youth Media Awards yesterday. It arrived on my doorstep this afternoon.
1. What a glorious book, both textually and visually! A pure delight from cover to cover!
2. In terms of information...well...it deservedly won the 2021 Robert F. Sibert Medal for the most distinguished informational book. In addition to the birth to death story of Apis mellifera, the book contains wonderful back matter including the parts of the bee, types of honeybees, and how we can help protect the honeybee...
3. My plan is to give this book to two special kids in my life, along with a gift card to a greenhouse, where they can purchase bee-friendly perennial flowers to create a habitat for bees in their yard!
This is really a first purchase for parents, grandparents, and school and public libraries. Highly, highly recommended!
1. What a glorious book, both textually and visually! A pure delight from cover to cover!
2. In terms of information...well...it deservedly won the 2021 Robert F. Sibert Medal for the most distinguished informational book. In addition to the birth to death story of Apis mellifera, the book contains wonderful back matter including the parts of the bee, types of honeybees, and how we can help protect the honeybee...
3. My plan is to give this book to two special kids in my life, along with a gift card to a greenhouse, where they can purchase bee-friendly perennial flowers to create a habitat for bees in their yard!
This is really a first purchase for parents, grandparents, and school and public libraries. Highly, highly recommended!
October 12, 2024
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera is a nonfiction picture book published in 2020 that shows the lifecycle of a honeybee. The book begins as the honeybee comes out of the nest. The end of each page is waiting on the honeybee to fly, but there are jobs she must do first, such as cleaning, nursing, queen tending, comb building, food handling, and guarding. When the honeybee finally flies, on the fifth day of her life, there is an amazing four page spread the shows the honeybee taking off and only the word “Flies” on the page. After the honeybee can fly, the book focuses on getting nectar and the toll it takes on the bee. At thirty-five days old, the honeybee dies. At this point in the book, the double page spread shows the honeybee laying on a leaf with a sea of green grass and leaves around her. When the book ends, a new honeybee is coming out of the nest. The last pages of the book contain a double page diagram of a honeybee with a description of each labeled part. There are also two pages that add more facts about honeybees with bold print words. Honeybee won the Robert Sibert Medal in 2021 and was an Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book the same year.
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