K-Gr 2 On a golden fall day, a bee makes her first flight as scout, looking for flowers for the bees in her hive to harvest. Focusing on the insect's journey, the story introduces the shared work of the bee colony and the basic scheme of honey production. "An arresting smell drifts on the breeze. Scout locks onto this scent" and soon finds herself in "an ocean of flowers." Not all of the quest is pretty. There's an attacking blackbird and a thunderstorm from which the bee must find protection. The well-paced text is set in warm, bright scenes. The realistic figure of the bee contrasts with soft, impressionistic backgrounds in orange and gold, blue and green hues. The narrative, set to one side or the other of the spread, is accompanied by a bit of straightforward, factual explanation in smaller, italicized type. Scout carries the pollen back to her hive, dancing instructions to her sister bees, who then fly off to gather the precious nectar. There are many fine books on this insect, but this one will be welcome in libraries that can use just a little more for children in the early grades. Huber provides an opening note on the importance of the bee as "the planet's greatest pollinator" and closes with a cautionary note that "honey bees are dying out." He doesn't mention the current debacle of collapsing bee colonies in the U.S. (he's from New Zealand), but he does advise young readers on simple steps to help pollinating insects. Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

A New Zealand import describes a worker honeybee‘s scouting mission. Naming his protagonist Scout for her current role in the hive, Huber delivers a present-tense narrative of her odyssey. It is fall, and Scout seeks its "last flowers." Through winds and past a hungry black bird, she finds a "sea of flowers" from which she gathers nectar and pollen. A sudden hailstorm temporarily grounds her, and when she arrives home, guard bees are battling a wasp that's attempting to rob the hive. Once inside, she does her waggle dance so her "sister bees" can find her meadow and harvest enough nectar to make honey for the winter. Running alongside the narrative of Scout's day are supplemental facts about the science of bees (flying charges them with static electricity, attracting pollen, for instance), and a brief author's note and index provide additional informational heft. The text at times strains under figurative language that's not quite right--the bees "flick from the hive like golden pebbles"--but by and large, it succeeds in accurately dramatizing honeybee behavior. Lovelock's full-bleed paintings, done in watercolor, acrylic ink and colored pencil, vary in perspective and scale, making the most of the autumn palette and refraining at all times from anthropomorphizing their subjects. While hardly the only bee book available, this handsome, respectful volume deserves a place on the shelf. (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Starred Review A honey bee crawls out of the hive, takes to the skies, and finds a sea of flowers. After escaping from a bird, she visits one blue blossom after another, sipping nectar while spreading pollen. Rain and hail ground her for a bit, but soon she heads home. When a wasp attacks her outside the hive, guard bees come to her rescue. Back inside the hive, she shares her nectar and does a dance to show her sister bees where to find more. This brightly illustrated picture book achieves a good deal. The lively, realistic story is enhanced with apt imagery and vivid turns of phrase. Meanwhile, small-type sentences on each spread add intriguing related facts about honey bees. Huber, a science writer from New Zealand who has been a primary-grade teacher as well as a beekeeper, shows a good understanding of both honey bees and of what will interest young children. Lovelock's illustrations, watercolor paintings with acrylic and colored-pencil elements, offer distinctive bee's-eye views of the world, whether showing landscapes from the air or close-ups of falling hail and bee-to-wasp combat. One of the most informative picture books about honey bees, this is surely among the most beautiful as well.