About the Book

"Get up close and personal with Apis, one honeybee, as she embarks on her journey through life"--

Book Synopsis

Take to the sky with Apis, one honeybee, as she embarks on her journey through life! Now available in paperback.

An Orbis Pictus Honor Book
Selected for the Texas Bluebonnnet Master List
Finalist for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book

A tiny honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell. Driven to protect and take care of her hive, she cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!

Apis builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. And finally, she begins her new life as an adventurer.

The confining walls of the hive fall away as Apis takes to the air, finally free, in a brilliant double-gatefold illustration where the clear blue sky is full of promise-- and the wings of dozens of honeybees, heading out in search of nectar to bring back to the hive.

Eric Rohmann's exquisitely detailed illustrations bring the great outdoors into your hands in this poetically written tribute to the hardworking honeybee. Award-winning author Candace Fleming describes the life cycle of the honeybee in accessible, beautiful language. Similar in form and concept to the Sibert and Orbis Pictus award book Giant Squid, Honeybee also features a stunning gatefold and an essay on the plight of honeybees.

A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, NPR, Shelf Awareness, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and more!
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Editor's Choice

Review Quotes

"a fascinating up-close view of the stages of a honeybee's life. . . . The drama and suspense are positively riveting."--The New York Times

"This stunning monograph lets young readers experience bees up close, with no chance of getting stung. . . . A sweeping gatefold shows Apis in her first flight, and the timely back matter tells us how to help threatened honeybees survive. They are, after all, vital to our survival."--The San Francisco Chronicle

★ "the art and text together convey a holistic view of environment and organism, with excellent pacing through the complete bee life cycle." --The Horn Book, Starred Review

"If there is a child in your life, this is a must share story book. And I think maybe even experienced beekeepers will learn something from this up close and personal story."--Bee Culture Magazine

"Candace Fleming details the fantastic industriousness of Apis mellifera in 'Honeybee', a picture book illustrated by Eric Rohmann with such intensity and accuracy that the squeamish reader may want to look on from a distance while someone else reads aloud."--The Wall Street Journal

★ "Oversized trim and a text artfully attuned to reading aloud work in harness together to rivet listeners as they follow Apis mellifera, nicknamed Apis throughout . . . Rohmann's much larger than life oil paintings of so eventful a thirty-five-day life leave the audience momentarily bereft at the end of their intense involvement with personalized, but not anthropomorphized, Apis."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Starred Review

★ "Glorious illustrations and engaging text combine . . . The vivid oil paint illustrations include minute details and, at times, seem indistinguishable from photographs. The pictures align perfectly with the text, showing the honeybee hard at work at various tasks. . . . this offering will captivate audiences.--Booklist, Starred Review

★ "This book is nonfiction at its best--a combination of beautifully crafted language and astonishing close-up illustrations. Fleming displays admiration for honeybees and conveys enormous respect for their work."--School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "As they did in Giant Squid (2016), Fleming and Rohmann give readers a deep dive into the biology of a creature so alien from humans it's hard to imagine we all live on the same planet. . . . Fleming describes in meticulous detail many of the myriad roles a worker honeybee plays in the colony . . . Rohmann rises to the challenge of a story mostly set in dark, confined quarters and a limited palette of black, brown, and honey yellow with stunning views of Apis and her sisters, each tiny hair and segment lovingly delineated. . . . Like its subject, a wonder to behold. --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ "The brief but complex life of a Apis Mellifera--a worker honeybee--is explored with depth in this richly detailed picture book. . . . Fleming renders her humble life a mesmerizing wonder. Rohmann's realistic oil-on-paper illustrations artfully capture close-up details such as the glisten of transparent wings and the fine hairs covering a bee's body."--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

★ "This dazzling picture book includes an essay and additional facts in the back matter, culminating in a phenomenal portrait of a tiny but indispensable component of nature--truly a delightful learning experience."--Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

"This is the bee book we've all been waiting for. We just hadn't met it yet."--A Fuse #8 Production

About the Author

Candace Fleming is the author of more than thirty distinguished books for children including Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, winner of the Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book, and Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper. Her book The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh received the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction.

Eric Rohmann is the award-winning author and/or illustrator of many beloved books for children. He received a Caldecott Honor for Time Flies and a Caldecott medal for My Friend Rabbit.

Candace and Eric's other collaborations include Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen as well as the popular "Bulldozer" books. They live in Chicago, Illinois.