Honeybee Rescue: A Backyard Drama

by Loree Griffin Burns, Ellen Harasimowicz (Photographer)

Fans of the Scientists in the Field series will love discovering ways to save and protect bees through the eyes of a honeybee rescuer.


Follow honeybee rescuer Mr. Nelson as he expertly removes a colony of bees from Mr. Connery's barn (with a vacuum!) and helps it relocate back to a hive. Photographs of Mr.Nelson’s relocation of the colony help bring the honeybee rescue to life.

Nature lovers and scientists-to-be will be abuzz as they learn all the ways to keep honeybees (and our ecosystem) safe.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Animals, Science, Stem, Environment

40 pages, Hardcover

Published May 31, 2022

About the author

Loree is a scientist-turned-writer specializing in books about science and nature for young readers. You can learn more about her adventures and her books by visiting her website (www.loreeburns.com) or by following her blog (http://loreeburns.com/category/blog/).

Reviews

[Tonja Drecker]

Real-life photographs add just the right touch to make this a interesting and valuable look into how honeybees can be moved to safety.

While many honeybee picture books focus on pollen collecting, how bees live, and honey production, these pages explain what a bee rescuer does. The honeybee farm of Mr. Connery starts the scene, first showing how honeybees usually are kept before switching to the hive they've built on their own in the corner of a rickety garage. Knowing the bees won't survive the winter in that spot, the honeybee rescuer comes in. Readers follow him, step-by-step, as he moves the hive into a safer spot.

There are several things I enjoyed about this one. First, the entire thing holds actually photographs of a honey farmer, his farm and the honeybee rescuer. The tale comes from real life and readers follow this right along, getting a true view into how everything is done. While illustrations are nice, these photographs add the needed touch of reality.

Second, the writing is very well done. Even though this is a nonfiction read, which explains exactly how the bees are moved and why, it reads like a mini-adventure. Not over the top, but definitely not an informational gush, which can bore. It gives the reader the impression that they are standing right there and learning while watching. The vocabulary is at the right age level and this is one for readers who have a good grip on words or as a read-aloud with more text.

Lastly, there are helpful and interesting additions at the end, which give an even deeper look into a honeybee rescuer's job and several other bits of information. It wraps up the book nicely and makes this a great addition to a classroom theme, homeschoolers, or simply those who are interested in learning more about honeybees. I received an ARC through Edelweiss and found this well done for the intended audience.

[Irina R.]

"The hum of bees is the voice of the garden" (Elizabeth Lawrence). In this story however, the garden belongs to Mr. Connery, a bee keeper. This is a true story of how the honey bees were rescued by Mr. Connery, a bee keeper and his friend, Mr. Nelson,a bee rescuer.

This book is a very educational book, my first introduction into the job of a bee rescuer and bees rescuing in general. The story is rather engaging as it is told in the form of a short,real life drama or a sketch in story-telling style,aided by several beautifully shot photographs (complete with arrows as pointers,to educate the readers through show and tell style ).

The story started by showing a photograph of Mr. Connery (as a way of introducing the main characters in the story just as the book title intended, 'a backyard drama') and his ramshackle barn. Then the story continues on by telling the readers that few days ago,while on the way to his vegetable garden, he noticed a buzzing sound coming from his barn and so, he went to investigate. From the barn's window, he saw a colony of honeybees that has just moved in!. From there, he realised that one of the bee hives in his garden has become overpopulated/overcrowded,which explains the swarm in his barn.

The book then gives a definition of swarming which i find fascinating as it explains on how the bees overcame the overcrowding problem in their hives by splitting their colony into two separate groups of the old and the new, complete with another new queen, where the old group had to move out and search for another place to stay.

In the next scene, comes in the second main character's part which is Mr. Nelson,the bee rescuer, when Mr. Connery called him to help remove the bees swarm in his barn.As a result, the two men concocted a plan on the bee's removal where the bees will be relocated back into a new hive. Now that's where the real challenge begin as it takes a lot of hard work,endurance and patience to remove the bees and each work needs to be done gently and with proper care as to not upset or shock the bees and disturbing their environment.

Overall, this is a very fascinating read as well as educational. I never imagine what a lot of work it takes and how time consuming it is to remove and relocate the bees back into their homes. The story is also very inspiring and eye-opening, as it tells about the dedication of two men who are willing to take such a risky yet very important job, that is saving the bees from being exterminated by people when they inhabit people's homes. As mentioned by Mr. Nelson himself in the interview section, a childhood experience of a friend being stung by bees when he and his friends were poking at a bees swarm, was the starting point of his involvement in bees rescuing where instead of letting the entire colony being killed by the angry mother of his friend,he chose to call the bee keepers for help.

His wise and quick thinking action, not only saves the entire bee colony but also nature and the future of humans as well as the earth needs bees to thrive and to survive as they make up as one of the most important pollinators on earth. "The way humanity manages or mismanages its nature-based assets, including pollinators, will in part define our collective future in the 21st century. The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world's food, over 70 are pollinated by bees" (Achim Steiner, Executive Director UN Environment Programme).

Once again, i thank Charlesbridge for another wonderful learning experience through this book. I'd most definitely be looking out for more books by this author as well.

[Alex Baugh]

Mr. Connery is an experienced beekeeper, maintaining wooden hive boxes in his backyard. So when he discovers a bee swarm in his ramshackle barn, Mr. Connery knows that his bees have outgrown their hive and it is time to stack an additional hive box on top of the older one so the bees can spread out. But first he needs to deal with the swarm in the barn. And for that he calls Mr. Nelson, a beekeeper who specializes in removing bee swarms so that people don't exterminate these important pollinators. In between the account of Mr. Connery and Mr. Nelson saving the barn swarm, Burns provided all kinds in bee information from why they swarm, the structure of a hive, how a bee vacuum works so the bees are kept safe, and how a bee rescuer gets the bees and any honeycomb they may have started safely into hive boxes. We just had a bee swarm in Manhattan the other day, so this was a great time to read this book to my young readers. The writing is simple but informative, and generative lots of discussion. The photographs, with some great bee close-ups, really add so much to the information and framing the bee rescue in a story helped my young readers, some of whom are afraid of bees. Back matter includes an interview with Mr. Nelson, and a Glossary of terms used, as well as an Author's Note about her interest in bee rescue. Burns does a brilliant job of sticking with the concept of bee rescue, so if you want to know more about the life and work of honeybees, pair this with Candace Fleming's Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera.

[Annie]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Honeybee Rescue is a well photographed and written story for young readers about honeybees, their behavior, and biodiversity by Loree Griffin Burns. Due out 31st May 2022 from Charlesbridge, it's 40 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is an engaging true story of honeybee rescue and some basic beekeeping info. It's told in simple language which everyone can understand and shows bees as helpful and important and not scary (as long as they're treated gently with respect). The author has done a superlative job of explaining swarming behavior and how beekeepers rescue bee colonies which have set up housekeeping in unwanted places.

The book is lavishly and clearly photographed in color throughout. I especially liked seeing Mr. Nelson's bee vacuum with which he gently gathers all the lost bees to move them safely into their new home.

Five stars. This would make a great selection for public or school library acquisition as well as for young science and nature interested readers. The author has also included an abbreviated bibliography for further reading.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Reading_ Tamishly]

I wasn't expecting all the real amazing pictures!

It surprised me and I had such a fun time reading the book. The writing is perfect for the reading age group.

The book basically aims to educate the young readers about bees, their colonies, and how beekeepers take care.

Love the presentation.

The pages are fun to read and quite informative.

I had a good time reading the interview of the author towards the end.

I appreciate the inclusion of the glossary to explain all the basic terms when it comes to bee rescue.

Thank you, Charlesbridge, for the advance reading copy.

[Sandy]

Interesting and informative book on how a colony of bees is relocated. The whole family enjoyed this book, especially the colorful photography. A great nonfiction read, short enough for younger kids, and detailed enough for older children.

[Franki Sibberson]

I love all of Loree Griffin Burns' nonfiction books so I was not surprised that I love this one too!

[Char (cosychar_)]

ARC|GIFTED|AD. We all must save the bees so what a great way to introduce this to children - ideal for those of primary school age! I myself didn’t know as much as I thought I did about bees so this is suitable for adults also. I also liked that this is a true story with actual photos! A good amount of detail without being too much!

[Sam Andersen]

This is an educational book about honeybees, their living environment, and the process of rescuing bees that need to be relocated. I like the color photographs because they allow a true view into the daily lives of the honeybees and their living environment. Furthermore, the rescuing sequence is shown in a step-by-step fashion.

I found the detailed information about the jobs of the beekeeper and bee rescuer fascinating. I was surprised to learn that bees are not likely to sting you if treated gently.

I would estimate that this book is written for elementary aged children. It could easily be used in a classroom environment in various learning modules. A fieldtrip to see an actual bee rescue could be an integral part of this learning process.

I appreciate the author’s dedication in teaching about honeybees and the rescue process. I would like to see more about the bee life cycle. Maybe this could be the subject of another edition.

I appreciate the listing of references to be used for further research on this topic.

I look forward to reading other children’s books published by this author and wish her many successes in the future.

I received this advanced reader’s copy from the author Loree Griffin Burns, Charlesbridge Publishing, and NetGalley. This is a voluntary review, and all comments and opinions are entirely my own.

[Debrarian]

Clearly explains the whys and hows of bee colony rescue. Fascinating photos and just enough explanation.

[theliterateleprechaun]

Are you or your little ones curious about honeybees, their hives and swarms?

Loree Griffin Burns invites you to come on a bee rescue mission with beekeeper, Mr. Connery and bee-rescuer, Mr. Nelson. She’ll show you photos of everything she discusses and will overlay each photo with the necessary arrows and information to make sure you see what she’s explaining. She’ll show you the inside of a hive and explain it, show you what a swarm looks like and why honeybees swarm, show you step-by-step how they move a hive and the machine, the honeybee sucker-upper vacuum. Like the ending of any good field trip, she takes questions in the form of an interview and provides keen readers with a glossary of terms.

Why is this a five-star book? Well, it’s written by someone who has been studying, reading about and keeping honeybees for ten years. She has relied on first-hand observations, photographs, field notes from bee-rescue adventures and then has backed it up with research on honeybee biology, hive building and rescuing. Told through the eyes of a honeybee rescuer, her descriptions are easy enough for the youngest child to understand and her photos are clearly labelled. Most of all, Loree is acutely aware of her audience - inquisitive little minds! She knows exactly what is going through their minds and anticipates then addresses each question; why did they form there? Why are the boxes piled up there? Why do they need to be moved? What is a swarm? What does the inside of that sucker-upper look like?

The educator in me is jumping for joy at such a stellar book coming across my desk! This addition to Scientists In The Field is one parents and educators alike will cherish and need on their bookshelf. Nature lovers and young scientists will definitely be abuzz learning how to keep honeybees safe. This is a field trip like no other!!!

I was gifted this advance copy by Loree Griffin Burns, Charlesbridge, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

[Brooke - TheBrookeList]

My parents began an adventure in beekeeping with an unfortunate little mess. A swarm of honeybees worked their way into a knot in the wood of their chimney, causing a pretty massive chore for my dad. He had to cut all the wood to open up the chimney, finding large sheets of honeycomb stretching further and further down. They had to keep cutting the chimney further and in the end, with honeycomb sheets more than ten feet in length, they managed to remove all the bees. They harvested lots of honey and rebuild their whole chimney. They've been keeping bees for years since. We all love their honey and have learned a lot about these fascinating bees.

Honeybee Rescue is a very similar tale, told in pictures and short explanations, of a group of bees that outgrows their hive, swarms, and then begins making honeycomb in an old garage. The photos are beautifully lit and framed, the text is interesting and it feels like a story. I called my parents and said, "They took better pictures than you and made a book out of it!" The text focused a little on hives and swarms, but was primarily focused on the rescue process. My children wanted a little more explanation of the bees themselves or the structure of hives, but that wasn't the focus of the book. Neither was their really any focus on beekeepers or their suits, tools, etc. Just the rescue. Luckily, it was interesting to see the rescuer working with all those bees without a suit. Crazy!

Read as a nomination in the non-fiction book award category as a panelist for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).

[Wren]

TAKE A (BOOKISH) FIELD TRIP!

Loree Griffin Burns writes a fact-filled book about honeybees with photography by Ellen Harasimowicz that allows readers to imagine themselves quite vividly visiting a beehive.

The book "shadows" a bee rescuer (Mr. Nelson) who works with a beekeeper (Mr. Conner) to move bees from a barn into a hive that progressively moves into a more ideal location.

Mr. Connery's bees have outgrown their hives and taken up residence in a barn; Mr. Nelson "specializes in removing hives from dangerous places" (apx page 12).

By using this process of rehoming the bees, the author adds some basic details about honeybees and about beekeeping.

When I was in about third grade, I did a report on bees, and my mother arranged with a beekeeper for me to bring in a portion of a hive encased in glass. I also brought in honey in the waxy comb (with bread). I remember that vividly 50 years later. This book provides a "field trip" of sorts without the cost of arranging a school bus or the worry of someone getting stung (or someone provoking the bees).

It was a fascinating read and very accessible. I would read this book to children ages 4 (paraphrasing) to 7. I can see independent readers ages 7-10 enjoying this book. And I enjoyed it, even though the target audience is much younger.

The book's End Matter:

There is an interview Mr. Jon Nelson, bee rescuer
Glossary
Author's Note on how a writer came to learn about bee rescuing
Sources
Further Reading
Acknowledgements

[Heidi]

Narrative nonfiction provides readers with information in the form of a story. Honeybee Rescue tells the story of a colony of bees that needed to be removed from an unsafe location and moved into a hive box. Burns does a fabulous job of presenting readers with the information they need to understand bees, colonies, and the risks involved with working with bees. The story provides Mr. Connery who finds a colony of bees in his old, leaky garage. He suspects they came from one of the hives in his yard. Regardless, they aren't likely to last the winter in the garage. He calls Mr. Nelson who gathers his equipment and comes to gently and carefully vacuum up the bees in his specially designed bee vacuum while he removes the combs for Mr. Connery to place into a hive box. Using photographs and easy-to-read text, the story follows the work involved in rescuing the bees and carefully transferring them into the hive box. I found it fascinating to learn about how this was done and the incredible patience involved. The facts about bees will help young readers understand why bees are so important and the remarkable people who work with them. One of the things that amazed me was that Mr. Nelson did much of his work with no protective gear and got stung very few times! That's expertise in action. The back matter includes an interview with Mr. Nelson, a glossary, an author's note, sources, and further reading recommendations. A fabulous resource for young insect lovers and for teachers or families hoping to help young readers understand bees better.

[Holly]

This educational book is fantastic for learning more about honeybees and their safe removal. Not only is there an abundance of important information, but the photos to go along with it really help young readers grasp a good understanding.
I love how this book really shows the hard work that goes into safely moving bees from locations they shouldn't be. Honeybees are so important and this book helps you understand just how important it is that you only allow a professional to do this job.
In my opinion, the best part of this book is the photos. I really appreciated the photos of the equipment, the step-by-step bee removal process, and the close-ups of the bees and the combs. Not only do the photos add to the education, but they are also beautiful.
The book layout is also very appealing to children. It's like a scrapbook-style book. The way the pictures are placed and labelled is great. Having it done this way is perfect for sharing a lot of information but not in large, overwhelming paragraphs.
I think this should be a book in every classroom.

[Carolyn Bragg]

A delightful book in the style of a colorful scrapbook that helps the reader feel like they were on a field trip!

On-point text and interviews as well as beautiful photographs show a wild-built beehive (in danger), and how a specialist carefully transfers the wild hive and bees to a safer hive box.

The information is thorough (I learned a couple of things), and the book as a whole is so well done, it feels exciting and fresh!

Readers will be motivated to protect and help these fascinating creatures, and view bee handlers with more awe for the important work they do. Recommended ages are 5-8 years; I suggest 5 to adult.

5/5 Stars

Thanks to Charlesbridge and NetGalley for the free preview of this ebook pdf; the review is voluntary.

#HoneybeeRescue #NetGalley
#CharlesbridgePublisher #Charlesbridge
#Nature #Science #HoneyBees #Insects #ChildrensNonfiction #OutdoorNature

Pages: 40
Full color pages

[Margaret]

Two Sundays ago, my furry friend and I were taking our daily sunrise walk. About a block from the house, we passed several large basswood trees on our right. The buzzing sound from those trees was so loud, I paused looking for an immense hive. There was nothing. Near the end of our walk, coming down our home street from the other direction, we walked by another large basswood tree. It sounded like there were thousands of bees there, but there was no nest. At home, we slowly strolled past the large basswood tree in our yard. The buzzing was loud, but I could not find any kind of nest or hive. A single word popped into my mind---migration.

To the best of my knowledge though, honeybees don't migrate like monarch butterflies or birds. The next day chatting with a friend helped me to recall something about honeybees needing to relocate. Honeybee Rescue: A Backyard Drama (Charlesbridge, May 10, 2022) written by Loree Griffin Burns with photography by Ellen Harasimowicz offers an intriguing explanation to the sounds heard on that Sunday morning. It is the best kind of adventure into the natural world.

My full recommendation https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...

[Sandy Brehl]

The vibrant and informative photography throughout these pages are an essential addition to excellent text that together present a non-fearful view of bee handling, care for nature, and an important but unusual career process. Most beekeeping/handling images show fully protected workers, but this actual account of ma skilled handler reveals an alternative approach. It is one that includes superior training as well as a temperment that allows for conveying calm and moving/ breathing in nonthreatening ways. The entire detailed account of transferring a potentially endangered natural hive of honeybees to a safe accommodation is fascinating. Back matter is a very kid-friendly message from the featured handler and how his interest began as a child as well as the environmental issues and awareness that led him to his career.

[Angie]

This children's nonfiction book tells the story of a beekeeper and the important role bees play in our world. Using real photos and the story of a real beekeeper, this story is perfect for children who learn through visuals and story telling. The information in the pages is very interesting and important. As a grade 3 teacher I could definitely see this book in my classroom library. With about 1 paragraph per page the text will be manageable for children and the pictures will also help with comprehension. I would definitely recommend this book for teachers and families of children in the 4-10 age range. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

[Nicole]

Mr. Connery woke up one morning to discover a colony of bees, had made a home in his run-down barn. Feeling they did not have adequate protection from the weather, he called Mr. Nelson to rescue and move the bees to a safer place. This book tells the story through words and photographs, about all the work that goes into rescuing a colony of bees.
Honeybees are important to everyday life. This book helps teach children the importance of saving bees, and to not be afraid, just because they have stingers. There is a glossary and further reading, for families that are interested in learning more about honeybees.
Notes:
I signed up to receive an egalley of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.
This review was originally published on the Ariesgrl Book Reviews website.

[bjneary]

What a great book- my granddaughter and I read this nonfiction children's picture book and loved the story, the authentic, beautiful photographs about how important honeybees are and the 2 men who rescue a colony of 35,ooo honeybees and relocate them with a soft vaccuum back to their wooden hive!!! We were captivated by this "drama" story, we learned so much about honeybees and their honeycomb from one day where they made a new home in a rickety old barn. When the owner realizes this he calls an expert and explains his problem. The reader will love and learn so much about this story as well as the resources at the end of the book "An Interview With Mr. Jon Nelson, Bee Rescuer", Glossary, Author's Note, Sources, Further Reading & Acknowledgments.

[Sandra Stiles]

This is a wonderful book about rescuing bees. The man who found bees in his garage was a beekeeper. He noticed the bees and realized that one of his hives had split. That means when a hive gets to big to support all of the bees, the queen and half of the bees leave and find a new home. The man called in someone who specializes in bee rescues. Being a beekeeper doesn’t mean if you find a swarm somewhere that you know what to do to capture them and put them in a box. Most beekeepers do not rescue bees. If you would like to know more about bee rescues then read this book. If you would like to learn more about bees, then read this book and check out the references in the back of the book. This is a nonfiction picture book that people of all ages will enjoy.

[Annemarie]

I received an arc from NetGalley.

This book is a very global introduction into honeybee rescue. It has a lot of photos to go with the story, and everything is explained decently, but I wish it would have gone a bit more in depth/would have had some more information. I get that it's for children, but little me would have been disappointed that I hadn't learned more. It's also very region specific and while there is a small caveat about some areas having to deal with bees differently because there are more aggressive species, I feel like this is rather glossed over. I feel like in a way this book encourages children to "play with"/ hold/touch bees, and that can be quite dangerous.

[Jan]

The beekeeper missed that one of his hives felt crowded and had swarmed to a rickety garage, when he discovered it, he called a specialist to find a safer place and move them. The specialist knows just what to do and even has specialized equipment that he had patented. Soon the task was done! Next follows further explanations and even a glossary. Terrific nonfiction resource!
The photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz are clear and informative. Every public and school library needs a copy!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Charlesbridge via NetGalley. Thank you!

[Melissa O'Donnell]

This non-fiction book follows Mr. Nelson as he removes a honeybee swarm from Mr. Connery’s garage. He goes through the process of how he removes each section of comb carefully after vacuuming the bees off using his custom vacuum. The photographs are helpful to understand the process for anyone not familiar with honeybees.

My fiancé and I are beekeepers and we have captured a swarm of our own, albeit from a tree and not one that already started producing honeycomb. This is a great book to educate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #Charlesbridge #HoneybeeRescue

[Ersa S.]

I absolutely loved this book! My boys, however, did not. I think this is in part because the story was a bit too long for their attention span and would be better suited to grade school aged children that can read on their own.

The story was really nice though and I loved the use of real life images throughout the book. It really helped the boys to see exactly what they would find in their back yard (if we had hive dwelling bees).

A great tool to teach children about the bees that reside in our neighborhoods.

[emily_everafter]

Hello bees! Every reader will be saying this when they finish Honeybee Rescue by Loree Griffin Burns. This charming picture book about Mr. Connery and Mr. Nelson rescuing the bees from a dilapidated barn was informative and engaging. It made this reviewer want to go out and save some bees! A lovely book for readers of all ages, I highly recommend Honeybee Rescue for your next read. I give it 4.5 stars.

[Lisa]

This nonfiction picture book will make a great addition to a collection of books about bees. It's a fascinating and informative story about how a swarm of honeybees was moved to a safer location. In addition to the story of the rescue, the author has interspersed additional facts related to bee removal. The backmatter of the book which includes an interview with the bee rescuer, a glossary, and an author's note give further insight.

[Angie Counsell]

A nice easy look into backyard bees and how they are managed. This book would be great for a first or second grade classroom that is looking to learn about bees and what happens when they run out of room. A hive has swarmed and relocated and this book takes you through moving the swarm back into another box.

The language is basic and the pictures are simple but engaging and would hold the interest of young children. A good resource for a unit on bees.

[Cheyenne]

This book was so fascinating! If you’ve ever wondered how a beehive is removed from where you don’t want it, like in your garage or attic, this is the book for you. The photographs are great and really help with explaining the process. We really enjoyed learning about the process. This book would be a great addition to a classroom or library.