by Merrie-Ellen Wilcox
Orca Book Publishers, 2015
ISBN 978-1-4598-0960-4
$19.95, 48 pp. illustrations, photographs, glossary, index
orcabook.com
This latest title in the Orca Footprint series is a semi-autobiographic exploration of the world of bees from the perspective of the author’s experiences raising bees in British Columbia. The beautifully designed book is printed on high-quality paper and contains lots of full and half page photographs to give the reader a truly visual experience. Through a discussion of the average garden variety bee to the most exotic, the author explores the global contribution that bees make and the dangers they face. What’s the Buzz? offers the reader the scientific data about bees: what they are, how they are born, what they look like, the different functions they perform in their community. The author makes a bigger point throughout the book, explaining their interconnectedness to the flowering, animal and human worlds. Keeping the young reader in mind, Ms. Wilcox emphasizes the role young people can perform in becoming beekeepers or in taking action to protect the species from extinction. This book is factual and inspirational, making clear the importance of this tiny dynamo to our world.
Curriculum Connections: Students will be interested in this book as they learn about the interaction and diversity of species of the natural world. A great resource for projects, What’s the Buzz? can serve as a vehicle for creating environmental awareness of, and respect for, some of our smallest garden friends.
Review by Kent Miller.
This review is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Apr/May 2016 issue.