All About Bee Keeping - Pragmatic Mom

My family has a Father’s Day tradition of strawberry picking. It doesn’t always work out. Some years, there are no strawberries left by Father’s Day. On other Father’s Days, the weather is poor. Still, extreme heat or rain doesn’t stop us.

We tried a new farm this year. Cider Hill Farm is on Boston’s North Shore. It’s very lovely with a fully decked-out store and chicken coops. It rained lightly so we gathered five pints of strawberries as fast as we could. I think we finished in fifteen minutes and ended up spending more time in the store than in the fields.

The bee hive inside the store caught my attention. Rigged so that bees can come and go outside through a tube, the clear glass hive allows you to see exactly what the bees are doing. I thought it was fascinating! There is also a beehive at the Museum of Science in Boston!

I hope you enjoy this visit with the bees! How about you? Do you have beehives near you? Do you keep bees?! I want to try but my city’s ordinance requires 150 yards from other houses and I don’t think I have that kind of distance between neighbors.

Children’s Books About Bees

I recently received this nonfiction advanced picture book that covered many aspects of beekeeping in an easy-to-understand way.

The Broken Bees’ Nest by Lydia Lukidis, illustrated by Andre Ceolin

Arun and Keya search for the perfect tree for a treehouse but find one with a battered bees’ nest! The bees need a new home―right away, so they find Dr. Chen down the road! She’s a beekeeper who sells honey locally and she’s the perfect person to move the hive to a new location. Filled with sidebar facts, kids will learn about all the different facets of beekeeping. This maker series encourages hands-on learning. Maybe they will even be inspired to become beekeepers too! [picture book, ages 5 and up]

The Bee Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw Brett D. Huson, illustrated by Natasha Donovan

The bee mother, Nox Ap, emerges after winter ends. Like the yellow jacket wasp, she leaves her nest in search of a new home. While their nests are different — the yellow jacket wasp, a paper hive, and the honeybee, a hollow tree — both get to work to lay eggs for a new hive. Learn about their life cycle from the perspective of Native Americans, specifically the Gitxsan Nation in British Columbia, Canada. [nonfiction middle grade picture book, ages 9 and up]

The Bee Tree by Stephen Buchmann and Diana Cohn, illustrated by Paul Mirocha

In the rainforest of Malaysia near Pedu Lake, the tualang trees stretch 200+ feet to the sky. It is on these sacred trees that wild Giant Honey Bees build their hives, filling them with precious honey. On a moonless night, young Nizam will make his first trip up the trees to harvest the honey. This is a long tradition for the Orang Asli, the indigenous people of Malaysia. Learn about the rituals and dangers of harvesting honey from so high up in the trees. The extensive backmatter gives more details about Malaysia and its peoples, the ecology of rainforests, the unique Giant Honey Bees, and the honey hunters of Malaysia.[ narrative nonfiction picture book, ages 7 and up]

p.s. Related posts:

DIY Bee House STEM Project for Kids

Pollination: Video and Ideas for Summer Learning

Bee Barf is Honey? Books & Videos for Kids

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Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
⭐ Starred review from Publishers Weekly
⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026

Free and downloadable guide:

Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide

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Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist

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Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat

California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)

The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025

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We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court

ALSC Notable Children’s Book
2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection