Davis, Danielle. Zinnia and the Bees.

Davis, Danielle. Zinnia and the Bees. Capstone Publishers     2017   240p.   $19.99        ISBN 978-1-62370-867-2          elem/ms            Conflict        E-BN

Zinnia, an eighth grader, is a master knitter. She makes yarn bombs (think tea cozies) for any object. When she cloaks the school mascot, a rattlesnake sculpture, in a full-length yarn bomb as a last-day-of-school prank, her punishment makes her feel like her world is closing in. Her older brother, 18 years old, disappears the next day without notice. After eating an ice cream to console herself over the loss of her brother, she attracts a hive of honey bees that take up residence in her unruly, curly hair without causing her a single sting.  Her attempts to deal with this colony of bees who think her hair is their new hive, trying to find her brother, becoming friends with a boy visiting his uncle next door, and mending the fractured friendship with her girl friends keep this novel humming along. Lots of laughs, plenty of puns about flowers and birds, and even a first-person narrative by the scout of the bee colony all provide the reader with an enjoyable novel about friendship, family and growing up. A unique story featuring a girl whose character changes from being self-centered and angry at her brother and mother to one who is capable of understanding the fears, needs and wishes of others.                           

Summary: Zinnia, an 8th grader, loves to knit. She makes a yarn bomb (like a tea cozy) for the school mascot statue and gets into trouble. Her older brother goes missing, she attracts a hive of bees, and her summer is one she will never forget.  Gr. 4-8   

Friendship, Bees, Mystery                                                  --Lois McNicol

Davis, Danielle Zinnia and the Bees

Davis, Danielle           Zinnia and the Bees  Capstone Publishers 2017   240p   19.99  978-1-62370-867-2            elm/ms           Conflict           E-BN            

Zinnia, an 8th grader, loves to knit. She makes a  yarn bomb (like tea cozy) for the school mascot statue and gets into trouble. Her older brother goes missing, she attracts a hive of bees, and her summer is one she will never forget.  Gr. 4-8     

Zinnia is a master knitter. She makes yarn bombs (think tea cozies) for any object. When she cloaks the school mascot, a rattlesnake sculpture, in a full length yarn bomb as a last day of school prank, her punishment makes her feel like her world is closing in. Her older brother, 18 years old, disappears the next day without notice. After eating an ice cream to console herself over the loss of her brother she attracts a hive of honey bees that take up residence in her unruly, curly hair without causing her a single sting.  How to deal with this colony of bees who think her hair is their new hive, trying to find her brother, becoming friends with a boy visiting his uncle next door, and mending the fractured friendship with her girl friends keeps this novel humming along. Lots of laughs, plenty of puns about flowers and birds, and even a first person narrative by the scout of the bee colony provide the reader with an enjoyable read about friendship, family and growing up. A unique story featuring a girl whose character changes from being self-centered and anger at her brother and mother to one of being capable of understanding the fears, needs and wishes of others.                          McNicol,Lois          Friendship, Bees, Mystery

Dickmann, Nancy La Vida de la Abeja

Dickmann, Nancy      La Vida de la Abeja  

Heinemann (Capstone)        2011   24p     21.50     978-1-4329-5270-9        

elem                Watch it grow(Capstone)     VG-BNes

            Spanish language translation of The Life of a Bee.  The volume provides a

visual and factual account of the life cycle of bees for younger readers.

            Outstanding color photos and simple to understand text provide an

excellent overview of the life cycle of bees for younger readers.  This volume

is the Spanish translation of The Life of a Bee, and is also available in a dual

language version.  Each stage of a bee’s life is presented both visually and

factually, with large photos at the top of each page, and the factual text

beneath.  Word ╥balloons╙ are used to point out specific elements of the photos

for increased detail.  A picture glossary at the end is beneficial for both

emerging readers and students learning the Spanish language.  A life cycle chart

at the end summarizes the information presented and makes the cycle more

understandable.  The only flaw in this otherwise excellent volume is the

omission of the term zangano in the picture glossary.  The inclusion of that

definition would do much to enhance the student understanding of the three types

of bees.  In addition, the term is also a slang term with several negative

translations, and, if known by younger readers, would only serve to confuse them. 

An index is also included.     This book is part of the Mira Como Crece (Watch it

Grow) series in Spanish.  The series consists of 11 books at this time.  The

focus of the series is an introduction to plant and animal life cycles.

            Naismith, Pat

Rotner, Shelley & Anne Woodhull The Buzz on Bees

Rotner, Shelley & Anne Woodhull The Buzz on Bees
Holiday House 2010 unp 16.95
978-0-8234-2247-0 elem VG-BNe
This outstanding book is an introduction to the bee and its habitats. The book discusses importance of bees in the human food chain and the loss of immense numbers of bees due to unknown causes. It begins with a description of the world of the bee, discussing some of the different species, their relationships with flowers and crops and their pollens, and their interactions with humans. The book discusses importance of bees in the human food chain and the loss of immense numbers of bees due to unknown causes. Colony Collapse Disorder has taken an incredible toll of the domesticated honeybee and its wild relatives. The authors describe the problem and discuss the possible causes with added reinforcement in a question and possible answer section

The book is clearly and crisply written and has eye-catching color photographs of bees and the plants that they pollinate. Each of the captioned photographs and illustrations reinforces the information presented in the text and adds a greatly to the book. The book ends with a section that presents ways for children to “bee active” in the search for ways to protect the bee.
This should be a primary choice for any library that studies animals. The information is presented in a clear and fascinating manner. A great book for either browsing or research. Ogintz, Susan