THE BUMBLEBEE GARDEN

When Ben spots a queen bumblebee in the garden, his grandfather shares what he knows about its biology.

It turns out Grandpa knows an awful lot: that bumblebees nest underground, that their life cycle is metamorphic, that they pollinate foods such as strawberries, that wildflowers provide forage for them, that they hibernate through the winter, and more. Grandpa’s lessons play out over the course of a year, each season bringing new opportunities to share his knowledge with his curious, bespectacled grandson. (A concluding spread reinforces the information with a clear, annotated diagram.) Ben’s little sister, Hana Mae, provides humorous parallels to bumblebee behavior, as when Ben laughingly wraps her up in a blanket to mimic a bumblebee’s cocoon. Many spreads present the garden action on full-bleed pages; the white pages opposite feature blocks of text and close-up, scientifically accurate vignettes of the bumblebees in their nest. Occasional onomatopoeia is set in display type. Though the story focuses on bumblebees, young readers who have learned about honeybee biology will infer facts about differences between the insects, such as bumblebee queens’ solitary natures. The book doesn’t mention threats to bumblebees, just encouragement to nurture them. Illustrations suggest that Ben and Hana Mae are biracial, with an Asian-presenting mom and white-presenting dad and grandfather.

A gentle, lovely introduction to a ubiquitous but lesser-known insect.