Loved this book! It has beautiful illustrations and is a good mix of information and storytelling. As an aspiring beekeeper it was great to see how much information was share but in a kid friendly way. This will be great to use with my kids when we get to our gardening/beekeeping lessons.

What a perfect (and comprehensive!) introduction to beekeeping for this age!

Akeem and his father take us through a season of beekeeping at Sankofa Farms. I expected basic introductory information, but this book is so detailed! Everything from bee births and bearding to sugar water and swarming is covered alongside beautiful illustrations. Treating its readers with the respect and intelligence they deserve, this is a fascinating read. There's also such a sense of empathy throughout that I appreciate, as the questions Akeem asks (like what happens to bee colonies that don't survive the winter) are thoughts that many young kids will have in the process of beekeeping, and the facts are told truthfully but compassionately.

(Plus, it's just awesome to have representation of Black boy excellence in beekeeping! I'm so glad this book introduced me to Kamal Bell, his family, and their farms.)

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Through-the-year journey of bees and beekeeping, great insight.

I loved this. Akeem and his family have a farm, and this book focuses on their beekeeping - showing readers what thought and care goes into looking after these precious pollinators, and their life cycle through a year.

As an adult, I learnt a few things about their hives, habits and hazards. There's plenty of labelled illustrations and a good amount of detail for curious children of all ages and it feels like a realistic look at life for bees - sometimes they don't make it through the winter, for example.

Homes and schools could make a lot of use of this book.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

As a beekeeper/elementary librarian, I was excited to see a picture book about beekeeping packed with good information. There were a few issues with the speech bubbles having the correct text in them, but I assume that would be fixed in the final version. Thanks for letting me read it early!

The illustrations are great along with the actual real-life pictures at the end! The author explains step by step of farming and beekeeping. The vocabulary for explanations is perfect for this age range! My Pre-K class conducts studies on gardening and insects. I wouldn't read the whole book, just the most important parts. I do feel that the book was a little too long even for the age range. All of the concepts were covered but didn't necessarily have to have their own separate pages. I feel that some of the concepts could have been combined. The book was a great way to explain the importance of bees!

As a rural library serving a community filled with independent apiaries, small scale farms, and community pollinator gardens, this book is sure to be a hit with our families!

The cheerful illustrations, engaging photos, and graphic novel layout will appeal to younger readers, while the solid information and handy index will appeal to older readers who want to share "what my family does" with their friends and the community at large. Surprisingly comprehensive, this book pulls readers onto a small family farm and into the cycle of beekeeping across all four seasons, providing both a basic overview of bees and beekeeping and a more nuanced look at the challenges faced by the small scale farmer or beekeeper. A fantastic addition to any library, and a perfect book to bring along on a Farmers Market story time or as a highlight for a community garden or local pollinator program.