What Can It Be? Bee--A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup

Dawn is breaking on a brilliant new day.
And in the meadow, poppies sway.

A bee appears, striped black and gold.
Wonder what nature is about to unfold?

The busy bee is indeed at the center of this spring poem, as shown in the die-cut cover of the book itself. The hexagonal, honeycomb-shaped cutout grows progressively smaller on each page, with the hard-working bee always the center of attention as she works her magic with each of the spring blooms.

It's a mutual rewards thing down in the meadow. Bee takes nectar, but also carries pollen to fertilize the flowers that provide the fruit and seeds for the growth cycle.

Among the orchard's apple trees,
Blossoms quiver in the breeze.

Carrying pollens from plant to place,
Bee always leaves a tiny trace.

In her spring-themed Bee: A Peek-Through Picture Book (Doubleday Books, 2016), Britta Teckentrup's attractive toy-and-movable-book comes along just in time for those spring units on beneficial insects and the life cycle of the plant in which bees play such a vital role. Teckentrup's flowing, rhyming couplets provide the actual lesson in pollination, and her lovely illustrations of the lively setting for bee's busy day, flying on to ply her trade among the apple blossoms and the daisies, keep the story moving in this book that is tailor-made for classroom readalouds and browsing. Says School Library Journal, " ... this book is well suited for an introductory look at pollinators."