M. Maitland DeLand
Greenleaf Book Group Press (2010)
ISBN 9781608320288
Reviewed by Cayden (age 5 ½) and Max (age 3 ½) Aures and Mom for Reader Views (03/10)
“Busy Bees at Work and Play” by M. Maitland DeLand explores the importance of both work and play.
Cayden: “In this book the girl bee asks her mom why she can’t stay home with her and play instead of going to work. The mom bee tells her that work is important. Then we see all kinds of bees with jobs and learn what they do. There is the plumber bee who fixes pipes with his wrench so the water works. That job is important so we have water. The farmer bee grows food for people to eat. My favorite is the policeman bee who makes sure people don’t drive too fast. If they do he gives them a ticket and tells them not to do it again. I liked seeing all of the different bee’s jobs. They had their play things (like their baseballs and skates) at their jobs in all of the pictures so they could use them when they were done. My favorite part of the book was when all of the bees were doing fun stuff at the end like fishing, flying kites, and playing football. That was the part when they were playing after doing all of their work!”
Max: “These bees have lots of jobs. They have really big eyes too! I liked their bee houses. My favorite was the fireman bee. He drove his fire truck and got his ladder out to help the cat in the tree. I like his fireman hat. I liked when they had a picnic on the last page. I want to have a picnic when the snow is melted.”
Parent’s comments:
“Busy Bees at Work and Play” by M. Maitland DeLand is a fun way for young children to learn about different jobs and to see how all professions are essential to the functioning of a community. Deland stresses the importance of balancing work and play and conveys the message in an entertaining way. We enjoyed the rhyming text and the creative illustrations.
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