The Secret Life of Bees

This a stunning book filled with facts about bees, beehives, beekeepers and how we can create an environment friendly to bees. This is combined with stories and mythology about bees as well as gorgeous illustrations. My children are obsessed with facts about bees and loved this book. It is one to return to again and again. I feel so lucky to have an ARC from Netgalley but know that the physical book will be an even better reading experience for my children so will definitely be purchasing a hard copy.

This is an informative book that provides all possible facts about bees, including their anatomical structure, their work ethic, their process of making honey, their importance to the environment, and so on. Rather than just stopping at providing facts about bees, it also includes some nice little tales about bees from folk lore. This makes the book different from other children’s nonfiction as it increases the entertainment value. There are a few interactive search-and-find activities too.

However, what I feel is that the book sends mixed signals about whom it is aimed for. The book length, the activities and the illustrations make it suitable for an early reader. However, the vocabulary is quite advanced for this age group and will probably work well for a slightly advanced reader. Younger readers will feel pretty overwhelmed by the words unless they have a strong understanding of the science behind the concepts.

Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What a fabulous book! Perfect for both Ks1 and KS2, this is the ideal addition to any nature or eco topic or club. Beautiful illustrations and a range of writing genres both inform and entertain, combining myths, legends and facts about bees. There's even a little 'find the...' challenge on each page.

This was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised by the blending in of tales from around the world and I loved the bee telling the story of how they came to be and how they lived and the different jobs the bees undertook. This format is really great and I now look forward to seeing the real thing.

I've been intending to read a book about bees, and when I saw this, I thought it would be a remarkable introductory book. And it is! I've learned a lot from this adorable book, which made me want to learn more about bees. This would make an excellent gift for all children, as the illustrations are cute and the stories and information in it are so enjoyable to read. And I think many adults would love to read it too. Excellent book!

Wow! This is just such a charming book! A lovely mixture of information and stories with gorgeous illustrations. My 6 year old read a lot of the text and was fascinated by the information, especially the waggle dance.

A beautifully illustrated book detailing the lives of the honey bees. This is a wonderful story to share with your children. I enjoyed the elements where you are encouraged to find items on the page. Getting my children to interact with the pages encouraged their focus and interest.. Small stories within the narrative about Bees in history were interesting and fun to read. Learning about the life cycle was informative and helpful. Some great advice given without thrusting down our throats the environmental concerns currently surrounding the bee populations. This publication has encouraged conversations and understanding in my household. My children are now aware of the importance of providing safe environments for bees. Highly enjoyed by the whole family.

I like this book and how informative it is about the life of bees. It is quite long and wordy, and if I was to read through the whole book to my early years children, their attention would dwindle and I’d lose their focus. However, with how this book is written I could easily do a few sections a day and make it a discussion/topic with the children. I think it definitely suits primary aged children, but could be enjoyed in the Early years too. It is beautifully illustrated, descriptive, informative, fun, and thorough. The children (and adults) will gain knowledge through this book. I thought I knew everything I needed to know about bees myself, but discovered some facts I was unaware of, so that was a nice surprise. There is plenty of learning opportunities within the book for the children that involve counting, colours, the environment and more, with a little imagination and encouragement. This is a book that I could see finding its way onto our bookshelves in my setting.

This is a beautifully presented book, with a mixture of information and stories from around the world. It gives a lot of factual information about bees in a really accessible way. The illustrations are also lovely, bright and colourful.
A good book to share with younger children or for older children to access themsei.

The Secret Life of Bees by Moira Butterfield is an splendid little book. It’s full of wonderful information about bees, beekeepers, bee keeping and much more. It has mythology and stories along the way. The book is full of colour! Each page has colourful pictures and looks beautiful.

If you love the amber nectar or bees then you'll love this gem of a book. Really informative text with stories from around the world. Even i learnt a thing or too from it. The book can easily be pitched to a variety of ages as the pictures are beautiful drawn to provoke discussion. Older children and adults' can enjoy the text.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I absolutely love this book!! This book will tell you in a very comprehensive way everything there is to know about bees.

The book starts with an introduction by 'Buzzwing the honey bee.' Buzzwing describes his jobs as a 'worker bee' and explains what each part of his body can do. There are great little facts that children will love along the way 'guess what my eyeballs are hairy!'

The book goes on to describe bee hives, how bees send messages to find food, how they make honey, types of bee around the world and so much more. It also includes 'bee stories' from around the world.

The presentation of this book and the detailed illustrations are stunning.

This is a book I have to buy for my children and I fully expect us to keep revisiting it as there is just so much to learn.

This would be a perfect book to have in a primary school for any minibeast topic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for this eARC.

I was really excited about this book straight away from the look of the fantastic front cover and of course the subject matter. There are so many interesting and useful facts to learn about bees and this book covers them all.

Written from the perspective of ‘Buzzwing the Honey Bee’, with an ‘when I was born’ and ‘all about me’ section, it is a really fun way to seize interest from the start. I loved the way we are introduced to Buzzwing’s friends and we learn about the different bee’s jobs.

This book has got everything you need in a non-fiction book for children of this age group. There are things to spot in the pictures, ideas for writing activities, gardening for bees tips and some bee tales. The short stories break up the information pages so to give the child a different focus for a while. I really like this approach.

The main focus of the book is honey making bees, but there is a section on different types of bees. The facts are presented in small snippets of text surrounded by interesting and fun illustrations. This is a feature that is presented throughout, fun and cute illustrations which ensure that learning is fun and exciting.

It would be difficult to finish reading this book in one sitting as there is just so much here. This book is such a treat and holds a huge amount of information. For children interested in wildlife and nature it would be a fantastic addition to their bookshelf. I will be recommending this book to lots of parents!

The Secret Life of Bees is told from the perspective of Buzzwing the honey bee. This makes it really engaging for younger children and it is a great introduction to non-fiction books. The book still uses the appropriate terminology but any complex language is explained within the text.
I like that the non-fiction information is interspersed with myths about bees from different countries around the world; this adds another element to the book. Buzzwing also sets challenges for the reader to find hidden creatures or items on the pages, which again, will keep a younger reader engaged.
The book is really informative and goes through things in a lot of detail. We find out about the different jobs bees do in the hive, how honey is made and about different types of bees that live all around the world. The book finishes with some important information about how people can help bees.
The book is extremely colourful and younger children will enjoy exploring the detailed illustrations. I can see this book being used in Key Stage 1 in Primary Schools.

An amazing insight into the world of bees. Full of delightful pictures that take the reader on a journey from hive to flower and back again. As an adult I learned a lot from this book and would love to use it as part of a minibeast topic with my class to help them learn more about the importance of bees to our world.