Are You a Bee?

Up The Garden Path / Backyard Books

by Judy Allen, Tudor Humphries (Illustrator)

This colorful first nature picture book, written by Judy Allen and illustrated by Tudor Humphries, gives children aged 4 to 7 an inside look at the everyday life of a honeybee.

Ideal for reading aloud or as a first reader, the detailed illustrations bring this familiar creature to life in a truly memorable way. Children will discover how a young bee faces many challenges as it takes its place in the hive and joins in the work of the bee community. They will learn about honeybee life cycles and behavior, and the witty, interactive text will encourage them to explore the similarities and differences between themselves and these fascinating animals.

And if you love insects, why not collect all ten titles in the Backyard Books series?

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, Animals, Nature, Summer

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Judy Allen is an award-winning author whose novel Awaiting Developments was short-listed for the Whitbread Children's Novel Award.

Judy Allen, along with illustrator Tudor Humphries, created Kingfisher's award-winning Backyard Books series and many other successful books, including the Reading Rainbow selections Tiger and Seal.

Reviews

[Aaliyah B]

Are You a Bee? is a non fiction picture book that explains how bees are born and how they survive. Are You a Bee? was written by Judy Allen and illustrated by Tudor Humphries. His book is intended for young readers from the ages of 4 years old through 9 years old. Are You a Bee? starts off with how a bee looks when it develops, after it hatches, how it is taken care of, all the way to how bee's make honey and more. I like how it explains how bees communicate. It is very detailed, but not too complicated for younger readers. The illustrations are detailed and sort of realistic. That is why I rated this book a 5 star rating out of 5 stars. Although some people may not be big fans of bees, it still may capture the reader's attention due to the information that is given. If I were working with children, I would use this to show the life cycle of bees. I'm not a huge fan of bees, but I am aware of what they do, why they do the things that they do, and how important they are to the environment. I would recommend this. Date Reviewed April 23, 2018.

[Synthia Salomon]

My daughter is really interested in bees and beekeepers. She loved this book although it is a tad bit advanced for a 31 month old. I liked that the authors (Judy Allen and Tudoe Humphries) share facts from the perspective of a bee. My favorite part was the illustrations of the mothers. My daughter identified one that looked like me and her beekeeper Barbie. There was only one illustration of the human child though and that was a minor disappointment. All in all the book is good!

[Jasmine Stocker]

This is a very charming book that introduces young readers to the world of a bee. It includes very good information on how bees are born, to how they become worker bees, and what a bee keeper is for. The ending also talks about human children to help students relate to the reading more. Young children are fascinated by a tiny living thing that they can find in their own back yards.

[Melissa Shea]

Informational- This book talks about how a young bee has many challenges to face.

[Alexis Sillman]

A easy way tp teach children how a bee lives and what it does! super cute and easy and the story is narrative and for sure will leave children with a good conversation and questions1

[Nathan Grozan]

2.5

Illustrations were great, but pacing and storytelling were kinda wonky

[Trish]

A cute book about honey bees.

[Scarlett]

Liked all of this series. Makes the information really fun and interesting

[Addie]

Cute. My 3 year is really into bees and she liked this book. "Very interesting," says my 3 year old.

[Bryce Decker]

This book has a very interesting approach asking the readers questions about themselves. The reader will answer no to all of them until the end revealing they are not a bee. This also provides lots of useful information about bees.

[Dolly]

This is another fun book in the Are You a... series by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries. The narrative is fun and speaks to children directly, teaching them about the featured insect (in this case, a bee.)

The illustrations are marvelous and really capture the nature of a bee and show us a close up view of the insects. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[Carissa Gelinas]

Picture #3
This book could be used for readers that are just beginning to read. There aren't too many difficult words that are used in the book. The sentences are also pretty short. "Are you a Bee?" is a book that puts the reader as the bee. It goes through the life cycle of a bee and goes through what they do when they continue to grow. The book talks about the different types of bees there are and what happens when they leave their nest. At the end, it states that the reader really isn't a bee, but they are a human.

[Giki]

This book is beautifully illustrated, The pictures are not only accurate and detailed but are colourful and interesting in a way that really appeals to kids. A large number of surprising facts about honey bees are presented within the text but the light tone and narrative structure mean it is still ideal for bedtime reading. It helped my kids develop not only a real understanding of what bees are and how they live but also a real respect for this vulnerable creature.

[Christopher]

A children's book I picked up in Grand Bend, Ontario, that asks the reader if they are a bee, and then explains how life works if the answer is "Yes". Informative, cleverly drawn, and simply expressed, this book explains the bee's life to toddlers, until it gets to page 25 when it gets very creepy and turns into an Aphex Twin video. Which is of course why I picked it up.

[Jill Wolf]

Informational Book #2
This book explains the life of a bee from beginning to end. It gives good visuals to go along with the information provided. I personally believe that it would be good for very young readers during a read aloud or for older students learning vocabulary during a bee unit. I like how it incorporates beekeepers at the very end of the book.

[Michelle]

Was written from an interesting point of view, asking if you the reader are a bee and if you what characteristics you'd have. The only thing I didn't like is the humans are so ugly!

[Mariah]

This is a good nonfiction children's book that goes through all of the characteristics of bees. The book goes through and compares human children to bees which I think young kids would like.

[Heather]

Lots of great information and terms for kids to learn about bees.

[Alicia Lawrence]

This book talks about the bees life cycle from beginning to end. The book compares the bees to a human and has great visuals for the reader. I like how the book takes the reader's point of view.

[Vanessa Westen]

Are You a Bee? If you're unsure on the answer, read this book! Students will learn about the different characteristics of bees as well as their jobs.

[R. L. Peterson]

This is an excellent book for your young readers to introduce them to a ton of fun facts about bees! Homeschool friendly!

[Angela]

Lovely simple straightforward facts about what bees do and how thy accomplish their work. This book had many facts that I never knew before which was joyful to discover.