Welcome to another Baby Book Club! This month, baby librarians Marian and Tilly discuss the buzzing, interactive board book Hello Honeybees: Read and play in the hive!
Marian:Â Hi, Tilly! Mommy and I read Hello Honeybees outside. I didn’t even have to wear a jacket, because Mommy says it’s almost Spring and the temperature is warm enough so that I don’t need to bundle up. It’s nice to be able to read outside without my coat. We sat at a picnic table Gramma gave me for Christmas, and that made me feel like a big girl. Where did you read the book? Do you ever read outside?
Tilly: I read it inside, both in my room and in the living room. That’s where I do most of my reading! I have a bookshelf in my room and a bookshelf in the living room and I like surrounding myself with piles of books because you never know which one you’ll be in the mood for. I hardly ever read outside, though. Mummy doesn’t bring my books when we go outside but that’s okay. There are rocks and sticks and flowers and sand to play with anyway.
Marian: Did you think the bees were cool? I don’t have any other books that have parts come off, unless it’s a page I tear off. I liked them. I wanted to snap them back into the cover, but I couldn’t get them to go. Mommy says the book is in the shape of a beehive and she says that’s really cool, but I don’t know what a beehive is.
Tilly: I loved the bees! They were fun to play with. I used them to hold up the book and make it dangle. They’re like an extra toy on something that is already the best toy ever. I don’t know what a beehive is either but I like the shape of the book. It’s different to all of my other ones.
Marian: Mommy tried to get me to do the waggle, where the bees dance to the right and left of the sun, but I didn’t feel like waggling. I wanted to read the book by myself. I like dramatic books, so I read in my best dramatic voice. Mommy taught me this voice, but she doesn’t always use it. Did you use the bees to interact with the book?
Tilly: Well, Mummy read the book to me when I made her. And then I took the book from her and played with the bees. So I guess I did, kind of?
Marian: The saddest part of the book is that Mommy says bees are dying off because people like us pollute the earth and build too many things so that bees don’t have places to live and things to eat. I don’t want to be the kind of person that lives at another’s expense. Well, except for Mommy’s and Daddy’s. But they chose that. Maybe I can help the bees somehow when I’m bigger. What do you think? Did that part make you sad?
Tilly: Yeah! Maybe we can both fix the planet when we grow up. Everyone says I’m a good helper, so I bet I can help save the bees and the planet. I think I’d like to learn more about the environment. This seems like a good thing to do. I like going outside and seeing flowers and birds and trees. They should be around forever.
Marian:Â I agree. Thanks for reading with me, Tilly!