What If There Were No Bees?

What  If There Were No Bees? written by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Carol Schwartz is a non-fiction picture book that explains to children the importance of the bees in the ecosystem. By using plain and simple explanations, this book does an excellent job describing the dangers of life without honey bees. With help from illustrations, this picture book is cheerful while still implicating the potential issues if bees become extinct.

With palatable language for young audiences, I believe Slade illuminates the severity of the deteriorating ecosystem. Each two page spread has a text bubble that is titled, "It's critical." In these bubbles, Slade includes fun facts that help children to understand even more about the world in which they live. 

By using beautiful and rich color palettes, Schwartz creates a world of nature with realistic outline style. Throughout the story, the illustrations assist the text by drawing certain pieces of each image in solid black. This shows in a simple and less disturbing way to children what could happen if bees were to disappear. Flowers are shown with their same outline but depicted in pure black. This gives children a visual as to what life may look like without certain parts of our ecosystem. 

I really enjoyed What If There Were No Bees? I actually learned quite a bit. And I believe it is a good source of information for children. It outlines the dangers of losing the help of honey bees in our ecosystem perfectly, in an adolescent but cheerful yet serious manor. The artistic choice of blackening certain things within the children's book clearly exhibits the message that the author is trying to put forth for children.

Motivational Activities:

*Seeing is a great way to learn. Take a field trip to either a Bee Keeping Site or a Flower Garden during pollination time for observation on the work honey bees do.

*Beyond just reading What If There Were No Bees?, have students do research to expand their learning about the process in which bees collect pollen, make honey, and why their work is important in nature.

*Statistics are helpful learning tools! Have students discover the statistical facts about how many honey bees there are left in the world, how many it takes to do specific jobs, and why a healthy and prosperous honey bee population is beneficial.

*Watch "The Bee Movie" as it is adolescent and understandable for children. 

Reader Response Questions:

1. Name a couple ways how you can help keep your/our grasslands healthy.

2. What continents do bees populate, and what climates/habitats do they live in?

3. Name some of the things that would happen if bees were to become extinct.

Further reading:

*In The Tress, Honey Bees by Lori Mortensen
*Honey in a Hive by Anne Rockwell
*What Do You Know About Food Chains and Food Webs? by Suzanne Slade