Bumblebee, Bumblebee, Do You Know Me?: A Garden Guessing Game [Hardcover]

Anne Rockwell (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: A garden guessing game

Ladybug, ladybug do you know me? My thorns are prickly, but my blossoms are soft. I am a rose. This is a garden of a book--filled with the scents, textures, colors, and shapes of the first flowers young children notice. Featuring a striking design that pairs a vivid silk-screen illustration of a flower with a simple riddle.

00 Kansas Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Award Masterlist

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Just in time to herald spring's flowers, Rockwell (Once Upon a Time This Morning) has created a graceful primer on the inhabitants of the backyard garden. Each spread poses an evocative flower riddle to a different insect: "Bumblebee, bumblebee, do you know me? Yellow and green, I wave to the breeze to say that spring is here." The answer, "I am a daffodil," is found on the opposite page in lighter typeface, set in a line following the curve of the flower's leaf. Nine other flowers follow; for the grand finale, the riddle is addressed to a "little boy," and the subject, a sunflower, stands tall across the spread when the book is held sideways. Using silk screens painted with watercolor and gouache, Rockwell creates elegant stylized shapes that efficiently and memorably communicate each flower's architecture to young eyes; at the same time, she's able to convey the softness of a petal and the radiant layers of color that exist in a single blossom. She underscores the simple beauty of her paintings with a stunning book design that plays down its own sophistication: ornamental capitals subtly accentuate the flower and insect compositions; the white ground is in perfect balance with the fields of gorgeously chosen color. The look is as fresh as a daisy. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1?A disappointing effort. On each double-page spread, a riddle about a flower is addressed to an insect: "Butterfly, butterfly,/do you know me?/Here I stand, tall and straight,/while my silky cup catches rain." The left-hand page shows the insect set against a background color that coordinates with the flower, which appears on the right with its name tucked into the drawing. The illustrations, done with watercolors and gouache on silk screen, are uneven. A few of the images are eye-catching?the iris has some stunning purple tones and the rose some lively shades of pink and red. The majority of the flowers, however, look washed-out and dull. While words are simple, most of the clues are not. Children may not be familiar with the names and appearances of some of these blooms, such as zinnias and morning glories. Lois Ehlert's Planting a Rainbow (Harcourt, 1988) is a more appealing and colorful introduction to flowers.?Dina Sherman, Brooklyn Children's Museum, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (January 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060273305
• ISBN-13: 978-0060273309
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Gardening

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delicious book to share with your garden-aware child, June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bumblebee, Bumblebee, Do You Know Me?: A Garden Guessing Game (Hardcover)

This book grasped the interest of my 3 and 6 year olds because of its lovely verse, delicious illustrations and games of guessing the garden creatures and flowers. We borrowed it from the library and have read it so many times, we are buying it from Amazon. A must have for our library for now and later!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Educational and Great Graphics, June 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Bumblebee, Bumblebee, Do You Know Me?: A Garden Guessing Game (Hardcover)

I checked this book out from the library initially because of the beautiful illustrations. It was also age appropriate for my 2 year old. I buy very few books, but I purchased this one because we liked how it showed a variety insects and flowers in a wonderfully graphic way. My daughter wants me to sing the bumblebee song now (even though it's not really a song). Incidentally, Anne Rockwell is the author of another of our favorite books, Sweet Potato Pie. She has written numerous books for different age levels.

4.0 out of 5 stars lovely illustrations, nice subject, May 9, 2006

By 

waldorf_curric - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bumblebee, Bumblebee, Do You Know Me?: A Garden Guessing Game (Hardcover)

I think this book is an excellent choice for a unit on Insects or on the Spring garden. The illustrations are very soft (the author created silkscreens and painted them with watercolor and gouache) and sweet. The wide variety of insects illustrated makes this one a keeper. Pictured are: bumblebee, butterfly, june bug, cricket, ladybug, (spider -- NOT an insect -- the 8 legs are clearly shown if you want to point them out), leafhopper, dragonfly, katydid. The flowers pictured are daffodil, tulip, iris, poppy, rose, zinnia, morning glory, lily, daisy, and sunflower. Although the test is presented as a guessing game, it's not a hide and seek. The flower is on the facing page of the riddle so your child will easily be able to respond. The only exception is the sunflower since that is done as a two-page spread (you turn the book sideways so the flower is shown in all its height).

All in all, a marvelous choice, with the exception of the spider and there's not much you can do about that; spiders seem to be included in most insect books unfortunately. Try to find this one for your preschooler. I do agree that Amazon's price does seem a bit high plus they have quite a long wait time -- we got our copy at a used book sale. Check your library, too.