Busy Little Bee
Busy Little Bee
by ReadRead · 4 min readBuzz to a flower, and sip! A little bee, a ladybug, a hummingbird, and a trail of flowers that leads back home.
Part of Family Shelf
Website price: $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, 7 days free. Every book, for every child.
About Family ShelfYou can also subscribe on iPhone or iPad. Confirm the App Store price shown in the app; it may vary by region.Inside the book
Bea is a busy little bee who lives in a round straw hive in a sunny garden. All morning she buzzes from flower to flower and sips the sweet juice. She helps a ladybug who is stuck on her back, and she makes room for a hummingbird at her flower. Then a big wind blows her far away, and she is too tired to fly. Her new friends show her the way home.
The new words in this book
The humming sound a bee makes as it flies, and to fly along humming. It comes up 8 times, and every time Bea really zooms off with her wings a blur.
To drink a little bit at a time. It comes up 10 times, and every time Bea (or Hum) dips into a flower and a golden drop of sweet juice goes up.
A refrain comes back on three spreads (“Buzz to a flower, and sip!”), so a child can say it along. Every other word is a common word, like flower, hive, wind, help and home.
Questions to ask while you read
Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.
- 1What can you see in the sunny garden?
- 2What does Bea do at the big yellow flower?
- 3Why can’t the ladybug get up? How does Bea help?
- 4The hummingbird wants some too. What does Bea say?
- 5Can you say it with Bea: “Buzz to a flower, and sip!”
- 6Whoosh! What happens to Bea? How does she feel?
- 7How do Spot and Hum help Bea find her hive?
- 8Bea is tired. What does Spot tell her to do?
- 9Tap the flowers: can you help Bea sip all the way home?
- 10Who says thank you at the end? Who would you thank?
How hard is this book?
About 300 words, longer sentences, more different words.
- Dialogue × 13“Thank you, Bea!”
- Questions × 2“May I have some too?” asks Hum.
- Commands × 3“Help! I can not get up!” cries Spot.
- Not / no × 2“Help! I can not get up!” cries Spot.
All 124 words, most used first
a 17 · and 11 · flower 10 · the 10 · to 8 · sip 7 · is 6 · can 5 · hive 5 · you 5 · goes 4 · i 4 · over 4 · she 4 · there 4 · up 4 · all 3 · big 3 · down 3 · from 3 · her 3 · little 3 · on 3 · says 3 · sips 3 · thank 3 · blue 2 · buzzes 2 · cries 2 · flies 2 · flowers 2 · have 2 · help 2 · home 2 · in 2 · leaf 2 · of 2 · red 2 · side 2 · so 2 · tall 2 · again · am · are · as · asks · away · back · bee · bees · blows · busy · but · by · called · cheer · come · each · every · far · fly · follow · for · garden · gentle · get · gives · good · grass · head · high · hooray · hummingbird · juice · just · ladybug · lands · lives · look · may · morning · my · night · no · not · off · oh · one · orange · out · push · puts · room · round · say · see · share · sings · slow · some · spins · stuck · sun · sunflower · sunny · sweet · tap · then · they · tired · too · trail · two · way · we · where · white · whoosh · wind · wings · yellow · yes · zip · zooms
Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.
Tips for parents
- First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch.
- Before page seven, stop and ask “Bea is lost. How could her friends help?” Let them think of a way.
- On the flower trail page, let your child say “buzz!” before each tap and “sip!” when Bea drinks.
- Try it for real: sip water through a straw, a little at a time, and buzz like a bee around the room.