This summer my petite family spent some time in Savannah and it was amazing.  We loved Savannah, more specifically I feel deeply in love with the Savannah Bee Company, their honey, products and mission.  This sparked a huge interest in bees from my daughter. 

If you’re new to my blog check out my post about our favorite shop The Savannah Bee Company.  After going there my petite had a renewed interest in bees.  Since we spend a lot of time in the summer gardening we had previously had a lot of conversations about bees.  In Savannah we got to sample tons of honey which was awesome.

When we returned I wanted to keep the interest in bees buzzing.  So we pulled out some of our favorite bee books and toys.  I figure it can’t hurt to start placing emphasis on the importance of bees when it comes to our food.

Bee & Me – by Elle J. Mcguinnes is a huge favorite of my 16 month old, she loves watching the bee move and squeals with delight when she turns the pages on her own.  However, there is a message that is important for older petites as well, that even if we are scared of getting stung that bees do really important work.

These Bees Count! by Allison Formento with illustrations by Sarah Snow is a great book part of a series of counting books.  This particular book has petites going on a field trip to a farm, not just any farm, but the Busy Bee Farm.  There are so many things about this book that I love, the farmer is a woman.  Formento uses words like apiaries and pollination.  The illustrations show a diverse class of kids.  My 5 year old loved hearing about how honey is made from inside the bees stomachs and that they spit it into the honeycomb.  There is also an opportunity for counting  which is always engaging for young readers.

I think that this is a great book to be used in classrooms where students are learning about ecosystems, gardens and communities.  This book is a great addition to the home library as well.

Hide and Seek Beehive Toy is from Lakeshore learning and has been a favorite of my youngest petite for a while.  When she was 8 months old she received this as a gift and has loved playing with the bees and hive ever since.  The idea is that it teaches object permanence when you put the bees in they are still in there.  What I like best about this is that each bee does something different.  Some rattle, crinkle, squeak etc.  There are five adorable bees that at 17 months she still loves taking in and out of the hive.

Anyone else out there reading books about bees with their petites, I’m always looking for new titles to share with my girls.

Happy Reading,
Erin