What a beautiful introduction to honeybees! The author does a wonderful job of explaining the many jobs that bees do, from feeding the larvae to gathering pollen to protecting their hive. The illustrations are simply stunning, with such a memorable, nostalgic feel to them.

All in all, this book is a great way to get kids interested in bees and create an awareness for just how much they do.

(Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

I will be purchasing this book immediately for my preschool class when it becomes available for our unit about bees and pollination!

The pictures are lovely and so descriptive of what the book is explaining.

My favorite part is the duel narrative, with a short story segment on each page, but then also a longer more descriptive and informative explanation. It gives the best of both worlds. There are days my class is only going to sit through a short story, but the pages are engaging enough that they will still be learning the basic concepts. But then if we have some questions or a class that is really engaged, we can go deeper and read the longer descriptions as well. It really adapts well for classroom use and multiple needs. And I always love a good bee book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Familius for allowing me to read and review this copy!

This is a beautiful children's picture book with realistic illustrations and factual information about honey bees. There is some larger text that portrays a simpler story for young children and smaller text that goes into more detail regarding the lives of honey bees. Even as an adult, I learned something new! I was especially impressed by the mention and illustration of pesticides causing bees harm as I believe this is such an important message to pass on to the youth. I also appreciated the illustration of how bees communicate their directions to others in the hive. There is evidently so much care and passion put into the production of this book.

This was such a beautiful kids story! My four kids and I cherished this! I loved every minute. It was beautifully done. Well done June! I was a preschool teacher for five years and wish I had this sweet story in my classroom.

This is such an important topic to teach kids about, and this book does it beautifully! Bees are such hard workers and an important part of our ecosystem and between the illustrations and facts, this book conveys this message to all of its readers! 🐝

Calling all curious bee-lovers!
The rich illustrations complemented with equally rich educational details in this book make the amazing lives of hardworking bees even more awe-inspiring!

The larger text is great for beginning readers. The smaller, more detailed text provides amazing insights that new readers can listen to and absorb as they look at terrific images. Well balanced, beautiful and highly educational.

Thanks to NetGalley for sharing this DRC with me for an honest review.

A spectacular book; perfect for the spring and summer. It informs young readers of the life cycle and behaviors of bees. Beautifully illustrated in a way that enhances the text and eases understanding. This book would be great as a read aloud for ages 6-8 and for independent reading ages 9-13. Perfect for school and classroom libraries.

Note for editor: as I received this as a digital ARC, please correct the misspelled “nectar” on 15 of 18.

They work is a beautiful nonfiction book by author June Smalls about the lives of honeybees.

I thought this book was beautifully illustrated. I love how the main story and small facts about honeybees on each page! Though the main audience for this book is children, I was able to learn some new things about honeybees as an adult. This book does a wonderful job of mixing educational and fun! I recommend this book if you or a child in your life are a bug or bee lover!

Thank you to Netgalley and Familius for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review!

Beautifully illustrated non-fiction book about bees. I particularly liked the feature of using large font size for the main idea on the page, but also a paragraph of smaller text that gave additional details that readers could enjoy. Will definitely purchase for my library.

Fascinating story detailing the many roles of bees in a colony. Fun facts accompany each page. Delightful illustrations will keep children interested.

A fantastic book for children to understand honey bees, how they live, and how they help the environment we live in. There is a lot of great information to go with the beautiful artwork in this book. My husband and I both learned a lot that we didn't know about honey bees as well. This is such an important book at this time in our history with their numbers dwindling year after year. Honey bees play such a crucial role in our farming and agricultural industry. 10/10

Well written factual book.
This book goes through the lifecycle of bees and how they progress through jobs to keep the hive going. Illustrations help the story and are clear. There are simple sentences for each 2-page spread along with more detail that could be skipped with children who have a shorter attention span. Well written, factual, and beautifully illustrated.

Age: 1-4th grade
Audience: school library, home library, classroom independent reading

This honest review was given in exchange for a NetGalley advanced reader ebook copy.

This book is a gem for children to learn about honey bees, their life cycles, and their importance to our environment. The artwork is stunning and beautifully complements the information. My boys were fascinated and found it easier to understand all the facts through the beautiful illustrations.

I also learned a lot about honey bees, which shows how educational this book is for all ages. Given the declining honey bee population, this book is crucial in teaching kids about the life of a honey bee.

Overall, it’s a fantastic and important read. 10/10.

What a beautiful book! I was immediately captivated by the illustrations, and Smalls' descriptions enhanced the experience. Smalls describes the natural world with concision and precision, offering a snapshot of how animals function. Here, we meet the bees and explore their world. I love bees, I loved this book, and I will be getting hard copies for my friends with kids and for my own kids!