Great Review Of Beeman

Concepts: natural resources, human resources, jobs

Review: A young boy values the company of his grandfather, a beekeeper who teaches the boy the tools of the trade. After the boy and his grandfather both suit up in protective clothing, they quiet the bees with a smoker and open the hive to examine the queen bee, the drones, and the worker bees. Next they remove the honeycomb and use a special machine to extract the honey from the frames. Most of the honey is jarred for later enjoyment, and the remaining honey is returned to the hive as food for the bees during the winter.

This exceptional book blends together a number of informative lessons in economics with an interesting story and lively artwork that will appeal to children and adults alike. What better way to spice up a discussion of jobs and human resources than to use this book about an occupation that appears to be, at least to kids, fairly unusual and slightly dangerous. In the back, the muffin recipe and the author’s notes about honey help to reinforce the book’s lessons about natural resources. Children may leave this book wondering if the tasty honey is worth the risk of getting stung by all those bees.

Review by: Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children