BEES

In the First Discovery series, a small book that provides readers with intimate glimpses of slightly larger-than-life, realistically drawn insects. An abbreviated text functions almost as captions for the pictures, describing behaviors: making wax, doing a ``bee dance.'' Engaging facts about beekeeping and other nest-building insects (hornets, wasps) are included, as are a few pages devoted to termites (neither their relationship to bees nor the reason for their inclusion in the book is ever made clear). Transparent pages allow readers to buzz through a bee's life: peek behind flowers, peer inside a hive, and follow drones in their pursuit of the queen. These overlays work best at conveying a sense of motion, e.g., a swarming bee colony seems to move literally from hive to tree branch to new home. A useful introduction. (Picture book/nonfiction. 3-7)