Honeybee rescue: A backyard drama by Loree Griffin Burns, photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz

This was very much in the vein of the Scientists in the Field series (even mentioned in the publisher's blurb) but written for a much younger audience. It still includes all the high points though - riveting photographs, interviews with scientists and related jobs, and a real-life scientific or environmental situation. It lacks the hands-on immediacy of Burns' previous nonfiction picture book, You're invited to a moth ball but still offers a lot of ideas for outdoor and nature-based programming.

Mr. Connery, a gray-haired white man, is shown with his backyard, including bee hives, a rock pile providing homes for animals, and pollinator-friendly garden, with the backdrop of an old barn. The story begins when he hears buzzing coming from the barn and investigates, discovering a swarm of honeybees has started a hive there.

Lively photographs illustrate the explanation of how and why honeybees swarm and then introduces Mr. Nelson, a beekeeper who specializes in removing hives. He's able to remove honeybee hives, even from difficult places, because of the way their comb is built and, after an explanation of the design of a honeybee comb, he gets to work, starting with a vacuum cleaner. A vacuum cleaner? Yep, a custom-made bee vacuum! Burns takes readers through each step of removing the bees, trimming the comb and inserting it in a new hive box, and rehoming the bees.

Back matter includes an interview with Jon Nelson, glossary, author's note, sources, and further reading.

Verdict: Although I would love to see more books on native pollinators, as well as encouraging children (and adults) to respect a wider variety of insects, honeybees are an easy introduction to the idea of not killing every moving/living thing you see and this nonfiction book combines interesting facts about bees, beekeeping, and some ingenious machines for a fun and attractive read-aloud. Feature it in programs about bees, gardens, and pollinators or use it as a classroom model for nonfiction writing and research.

ISBN: 9781623542399; Published May 2022 by Charlesbridge; Borrowed from another library in my consortium