Your work in five words:\nColorful, playful, engaging, informative, relevant.\n\nHoneybees or bumblebees?!\nBumblebees!\n\n\nA picture book is a fun thing, but the decline of bees is a serious topic. How do you think illustration can help kids understand today’s environmental issues?\nPicture books can visually explain what is happening in the world in a simple and concise way, so they are a great tool to help raise more serious topics to children. When a parent and child are reading together, it creates a context in which children can ask questions and have a conversation about these topics... and adults can learn from these books too! I certainly buy a lot of children's nonfiction because they are so good at explaining topics in a way that is visual and entertaining.\n\nThe Bee Book\n features a bee in a tutu (among a host of other lovely, playful illustrations)! What specific piece of design was the most fun to work on?\nThat was definitely one of them! When I learned that bees dance to communicate, it was such a beautiful concept that sparked a lot of design ideas. The other design that was a lot of fun was the one showing the life of a worker bee. These bees have so many different roles across their lifetime, from cleaning, to building, and guarding their nest. I loved creating a design that allows readers to follow a bee through these jobs. It’s an amazing system that’s enforced by nature to keep the colony well-ordered and healthy.\n\n\nBees are small, but they’re part of a very large conversation! What was the biggest challenge you faced while putting together \nThe Bee Book\n?\nThere are around 20,000 different species of bees, which is actually more than there are species of birds and mammals combined! Because of this, it was difficult not to include many other types of bees (and make a much longer book!) but in the end I decided to focus primarily on the well-known honey bee. Bee decline is actually effecting some of the lesser-known bees the most, but I hope that by understanding a honey bee's world, readers will want to know more about the other bees out there too.\n\n\nWhy do you think kids will love this book?\nAs a child I remember watching the bumblebees fly from flower to flower across the bushes of lavender we had in the garden. I think children have a strong familiarity with bees because they are able to take a close look at them in the outdoors. I hope that learning about bees will satisfy children’s curiosity about these creatures, and answer questions such as \nWhy do bees need flowers?\n, \nWhy do they buzz?\n and \nHow do honey bees make honey?\n In creating this book I became completely absorbed in the world of bees and I hope kids will love learning about them as much as I did.

Bee Book Q&A

Can't get enough of bees? Check out these other books!\n

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A charming first animal encyclopedia bursting with facts, perfect for little learners ages 5-9 who want to know everything about the creatures they love. From elephants to sharks to penguins, My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals is bursting with facts about the wonderful world of animals-what they eat, what they do, where they live, and so much more. Kids can even learn what makes an animal an animal, what makes a mammal a mammal, and what it means to be be endangered or become extinct. Animal folklore and legends are included to add cultural context and significance. Blending adorable, simple illustrations with rich photography and lively text, My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals is a very important book for very important people, the perfect first animal reference book for young readers.

My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals

Go bee-hind the scenes of\n The Bee Book\n!\nWe recently caught up with Charlotte Milner to chat bee tutus, the power of picture books and how kids can help in saving the bees. Charlotte is the buzzworthy author and illustrator of \nThe Bee Book\n.

Behind the Book with The Bee Book Author & Illustrator Charlotte Milner

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Behind the Book with The Bee Book Author & Illustrator Charlotte Milner

Go bee-hind the scenes of The Bee Book!

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