Regarding the Bees: A Lesson, in Letters, on Honey, Dating, and Other Sticky Subjects [Hardcover]

Kate Klise (Author), M. Sarah Klise (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2007 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Regarding the . . .

The seventh graders at Geyser Creek Middle School are beeyond stressed. They're preparing for a spelling bee and a horrible standardized test called the BEE (Basic Education Evaluation). Plus, this year the hunt for their honeys has become all-important. It's a good thing they have Honey, a bee that spells (yes, really!), as their class pet--and one fabulous teacher named Florence Waters. Sweet! 

 

The fifth book in the Regarding the . . . series takes the sting out of spelling bees, standardized tests, and even dating. Using letters, newspapers, and whatever else strikes their fancy,  the Klise sisters have again created a book that spells J-U-S-T P-L-A-I-N F-U-N.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—This addition to the series follows the Geyser Creek Middle School kids to seventh grade where they have to take the dreaded BEEs—Basic Education Evaluation. If the students do not pass, they must repeat all of middle school. And to make matters worse, their teacher, Sam N., is filling in for Mr. Russ as principal. But not to worry—he has enlisted the help of Florence Waters, fountain designer, as substitute teacher. She teaches the class via correspondence, sending assignments to the children while she's off gathering more information about bees to share with them. The story follows the series format of using letters, notes, faxes, and other correspondence to relate the goings-on. As the events progress, the students share their concerns about boyfriends/girlfriends and the upcoming dance. They also learn to have some compassion for a class whose teacher is using some underhanded methods to insure her students win the coveted Show Me Spelling Bee. Fans of the series will appreciate this installment, reluctant readers will be drawn to the format, and more advanced readers will appreciate the wordplay and puns sprinkled throughout.—Diana Pierce, Running Brushy Middle School, Cedar Park, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Grade 4–6—This addition to the series follows the Geyser Creek Middle School kids to seventh grade where they have to take the dreaded BEEs—Basic Education Evaluation. If the students do not pass, they must repeat all of middle school. And to make matters worse, their teacher, Sam N., is filling in for Mr. Russ as principal. But not to worry—he has enlisted the help of Florence Waters, fountain designer, as substitute teacher. She teaches the class via correspondence, sending assignments to the children while she's off gathering more information about bees to share with them. The story follows the series format of using letters, notes, faxes, and other correspondence to relate the goings-on. As the events progress, the students share their concerns about boyfriends/girlfriends and the upcoming dance. They also learn to have some compassion for a class whose teacher is using some underhanded methods to insure her students win the coveted Show Me Spelling Bee. Fans of the series will appreciate this installment, reluctant readers will be drawn to the format, and more advanced readers will appreciate the wordplay and puns sprinkled throughout.—Diana Pierce, Running Brushy Middle School, Cedar Park, TX
  (School Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152057110
• ISBN-13: 978-0152057114
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

KATE KLISE is an author of many genres. She has written picture books, as well as middle-grade novels, all illustrated by her sister, Sarah. She has also written two young adult novels and is a freelance reporter for People magazine. Kate lives and writes in Norwood, Missouri. www.kateandsarahklise.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another dazzling morsel from everybody's favorites - Kate & Sarah, August 8, 2007

By 

An Intelligent Reader Who Likes Smart Books - See all my reviews

This review is from: Regarding the Bees: A Lesson, in Letters, on Honey, Dating, and Other Sticky Subjects (Hardcover)

Stop the presses ! -- Make a bee-line for the bookstore !

This couldn't be a more satisfying & engaging read.

This tome's perfect for kids of all ages.

It literally leaves you buzzing.

Just like with their earlier loopy & festive chart-toppers (Regarding the... Fountain, Sink, Trees and Bath), Kate and Sarah have produced a

page-turner.

On this go-round, the fabulously imaginitive sisters use goofy and surprising puns to get us to laugh along as characters involve themselves with 'tween dating not to mention nefarious pollen carriers and standardized tests that you wish you could swat-t-t away.

I couldn't get enough of the unpredictable illustrations, the galloping storytelling and the positive values woven throughout.

Smart booksellers should stock-up. These Klise bon-bons, chock full of insights and cool-as-can-be images, are instant-classics - especially rewarding for middle schoolers and Moms & Dads who want an engaging and addictive snuggle-before-bed mystery/adventure.

If you get stung by the fun of this one and wish it were longer(and I know you will !), bee sure not to bumble the opportunity to catch their earlier "Regarding..." books before they fly off the bookstore shelves !

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh Out Loud, February 14, 2012

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Regarding the Bees: A Lesson, in Letters, on Honey, Dating, and Other Sticky Subjects (Hardcover)

I love the way this book presents stuff through correspondance. This entire series is hilarious, and I read them all in a weekend. I would recommend reading them in order though for characterization purposes. The AR level is for sixth graders, but I think fourth and up could handle it. Adults would even enjoy the witty humor!

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, March 18, 2011

By 

RDrops - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Regarding the Bees: A Lesson, in Letters, on Honey, Dating, and Other Sticky Subjects (Paperback)

I found the series this book belongs to at discount in a store closing. The picture style reminded me of Roald Dahl books when I was younger, of course the pictures were done by Quentin Blake. It was a good deal so I thought why not, they of course had other regarding books there but only picked up 3 of the 5, and boy do a regret that now, I ordered the other 2 books on Amazon right after I read the first book in the series.

I read the first one Regarding the Fountain, and I read Regarding the Sink right after. Waited for Regarding the Trees to come in to read and then I read Regarding the Bath and then this one right after that. Took me a good week to read through all the books (it would have taken me shorter but I had to wait for Trees and this one to come in from Amazon). Each book took me about 1.5-2.5 hours to read through. That's with reading all the fine print and looking at pictures.

This book is about the Sam N. being the temporary principle while Wally is away. Flo is subbing for Sam N. through correspondence letters with the kids. There is a big spelling Bee contest that another school has always won, and they invited the class to participate in. There is also something called the B.E.Es, which is a test that the kids have to take and do well in or they will be sent back 2 grades. Flo completely mis-understands when they talk about the B.E.E, thinking that it's a big giant bee that is going to attack the kids and she has to help train them to fight the bee, instead of it just being a test. She sends them bees to take care of (which is what you see in the front cover), one of the bees can spell any word. There is a lot of interaction between the other school and the class. There is again marriage trouble with Sam N. Also there is a lot of pre-teen drama with regards to relationships which Flo tries to help out in.

Over all I liked this story a lot, I liked the new characters, I think the author just introduced them to help with the pairing up of the main class because the main class is 2 boys and 4 girls, so that was kind of cute. This story was a little more obviously and easy to see where it was leading up to than the last two books which I found enjoyable because I tried to read faster to see if I was right which was a lot more fun than being completely lost before. Good book, easy read!