A Taste of Honey [Paperback]

Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

One day, Lily Bear asks her grandfather where the honey they are eating comes from. Poppy traces it back to Mike’s Market, then to the honey farm, the beekeeper, the honeycomb, and all the way back to . . . bees! This delightful story is filled with diagrams and sidebars that show all of the steps in making honey and answers all of the questions a child would ask, in just the right order.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lily the cub has a sticky question for her Poppy: "Where does honey come from?" Poppy tries to quell Lily's inquisitiveness with the most obvious reply, "Well, we just spooned it out of this jar." But by book's end, Lily's recurring refrains of "Before that?" have taken her and Poppy back through every step of honey production, all the way to the hive of apis mellifera (Latin for honeybee). Informative sidebars substantiate each of Poppy's concise responses; for instance, the spread that explains, "It was whirled around and around in a honey extractor," shows a diagram of an extractor with its parts clearly labeled. Wallace's (Apples, Apples, Apples) cut-paper illustrations also detail the netting of a beekeeper's hat, the pattern of the worker-bee dances that lead their fellow workers to a hive, and the bees themselves, their bold yellow and black stripes offset by gauzy wings. She thus conveys a wealth of information (even the Japanese, Swahili and Indonesian words for honey appear on a final spread). Though the design occasionally distracts from the information presented, Wallace strikes a balance between packing visual wallop and collecting fascinating factoids. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-A delightful and informative picture book illustrated with colorful, 3-D quality paper cutouts. Young Lily Bear asks her father where honey comes from and he backtracks through all of the stages, back to the bee. Poppy explains it all to Lily as she asks question after question in typical preschool fashion. The text is brief yet full of interesting detail, using sidebars for additional facts. The clear, clean images further extend the descriptions. A honey game and a facts page round out the presentation. Whether readers learn to say "honey" in Swahili (asali) or Russian (myot), this is an irresistible addition to any bookshelf.

Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076145215X
• ISBN-13: 978-0761452157
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #760,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book about honey!, January 5, 2012

By 

Joyful Mom - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Taste of Honey (Paperback)

This book is aimed at preschoolers and K-2 children who are interested in learning about where honey comes from every step of the way from the flower to the table in easy-to-understand text.

There is also a board "honey game" you can play with your child at the end of the book which reviews how honey is made.

5.0 out of 5 stars Really informative and fun!, May 16, 2007

By 

Holli "fierce_mink_2000" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Taste of Honey (Paperback)

I bought this book used, and we've used it harder! My son loves it with a passion. He's always been a big fan of honey and very curious, so finding a book that explains how it's made was a natural thing for us. The pictures are adorable--they really enhance the story.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book for Kindergarten, April 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Taste of Honey (Hardcover)

As a teacher who yearly goes to the library to get books about insects, specifically bees, this is the best book ever on the subject! (The bee is our school mascot.) For two reasons:
It takes a complicated subject, how honey is produced, and makes it simple enough for 5 year olds to understand; and the handcut collage artwork is something five year olds can handle in an art unit on collage. More, please, Ms. Wallace!