About the Holiday

With the bee population declining, today is a reminder to protect bees and preserve their habitats. Without bees and the pollination they provide, the world’s food supply is threatened. Pollution, pesticides, and colony collapse all endanger the health of bee colonies around the globe.

Bee Dance

By Rick Chrustowski

In the warm sunlight a honey bee leaves the hive in search of nectar. A sweet scent in the pleasant air entices the bee toward a prairie in bloom, where tasty wildflowers await. With its “bendy-straw tongue” the bee sips the delicious food. The bee races back to the hive and as the other bees welcome it home with a buzz of excitement, the Scout climbs the honey comb to deliver its news.

Image copyright Rick Chrustowski, courtesy of us.macmillian.com

The bee communicates its story through a “waggle dance.” It forms a figure 8, twirling one way, running up the middle, and then twirling around the other side. To indicate direction and distance, the Scout bee waggles faster and for a longer period of time. When the dance is completed, the other bees know exactly where to go. They swarm out of the hive and easily find the wildflower prairie.

Forager bees collect nectar from the tall flowers and fill pouches on their legs with pollen. They zip from flower to flower until daylight fades. In the growing twilight the bees head for  home once more. Back in the hive they unload their cargo in the combs and rest for the night. With dawn the cycle and the dance will begin again.

Image copyright Rick Chrustowski, courtesy of us.macmillian.com

Rick Chrustowski’s Bee Dance is a lyrical introduction to the fascinating and mysterious world of bees. Focusing on the communicating dance Scout bees perform to relay information is a familiar and excellent choice for young children used to following and inventing meaningful motions. The boldly colored illustrations give children an up-close view of the flying, sipping, and pollen gathering behavior of bees. The Scout bee’s dance is depicted clearly, and kids may love to replicate it. Further details of the life and work of honeybees at the end of the book add compelling information that kids will want to explore further.

Ages 4 – 8

Henry Holt and Co., 2015 | ISBN 978-0805099195

Visit Rick Crustowski’s webste to discover more about his books and how to make a Bee Kite!

Don’t Step on a Bee Day Activity

Honeybee Coloring Page

Honeybees and wildflowers go hand-in-hand or is it wing-in-petal? Either way they go together and make a beautiful, natural sight! Decorate this printable Honeybee Coloring Page with pencils, crayons, or markers—or make a collage using cut or torn tissue or craft paper!