In honor of world bee day this week, I thought we would review a favorite book. It was a gift from one of Lucy's aunts and she has only grown to love it more and more as she has become fascinated with the bees buzzing about our garden. Bee & Me gets 4 squeals!
Bee & Me is a beautifully illustrated picture book that tells a heartfelt story without words. A little girl befriends a bee and a fanciful story unfolds as their frienship grows. The little girl nurtures, feeds and plays with her bee friend until, ultimately, they make the whole world beautiful together.
Each page is intricately detailed and as the little girl and bee's friendship grows, other minor characters live their stories throughout the background of each page. There is always something new to notice or to talk about.
Lucy loves looking at each page and pointing at different details. She is especially fond of a two page spread where the bee and the little girl play together as the little bee grows into a big bee from the love, attention and nectar she gives him. We flip through this book again and again, marveling at the illustrations and telling and retelling the story we have made up over time.
Because their are no words and the illustrations provide so many opportunities for storytelling, I can't wait to see how this book grows with us as the years pass.
I love reading books and displaying them prominently in Lucy's play space.When Lucy really loves a book, I also try to incorporate a few activities with the theme of the book. Here's a few that I think would go nicely with Bee & Me.
The little girl rides on her bee friend while scattering seeds, this adorable ride on bee would be a perfect accompaniment to the story. While the story doesn't picture where the bee actually lives, Plan Toys created a beautiful wooden hive that is a great for fine motor developement, color matching, and learning about honeycomb/hives. The wooden hive would be a perfect toy to explore bees further and learn more about how they live. Plush toys are always fun for toddlers and this bee hive from Lakeshore Learning is a fave in our house! Each bee makes a different sound and Lucy loves flying them around the living room. For the final suggestion, I'm circling back to Plan Toys (a favorite brand), and suggesting a cute little bee on a zipline. It's a great way to explore cause and effect, and start a conversation about how bees find their way through the air, to the garden and back to the hive. It also makes a super cute whirring noise as it zips back home, which is a cute bonus.
Want to shop this post? The links below are amazon affiliate links, meaning, if you clickity over to amazon and purchase something, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Any compensation from the link goes right into Lucy's warrior fund to help us, help her, battle retinoblastoma. You can follow along on her journey using her hashtag, #lucythewarrior on facebook and instagram. xo
Five Bees in a hive (not affiliate link)
Buzzing bee toy - update - no longer available
