Minneapolis, MN; Millbrook Press, 2014.
This one truly is a mystery, and a bit of a scary one, too. The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees opens with a beekeeper checking his hives, only to find them empty of worker bees. On honey colored pages, Markle goes on to explain why honeybees are important, describes the bees’ duties inside and outside the hive, and investigates the array of culprits that could be contributing to the demise of the hives. The reader gets a lesson on the important role the honeybee plays in polination and food creation, bringing us to the reasons a healthy honeybee population is important to a healthy human population.
The text is packed full of information but is presented in a narrative style, so it is not so dense that it is intimidating. In addition to the content, the crystal clear photographs work with the honey comb-shaped caption boxes to make this a first-rate addition to a school library collection of any level.
Dewey: 595.799
Interest Level: Grades 5-8. Interest Level: Grades 4-7
CCSS: Narrative Non-fiction for Science and Technical Subjects – Middle School – English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects.
Younger readers might like: The Life and Times of the Honeybee by Charles Micucci.
Older readers might like: The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honeybee Catastrophe by Loree Griffin Burns.
Fiction pairing: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.