Also by Laurie Krebs: We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey through Tanzania We're Sailing to Galapagos: A Week in the Pacific The Beeman by Laurie Krebs, illustrated by Valeria Cis, edited by Tessa Strickland Grades K-4 40 pages Barefoot Books March 2008 Hardcover     The Beeman (first published in 2008) features a rhythm similar to the nursery rhyme “The House that Jack Built,” except that in this book, the text is not cumulative. This multigenerational story is about a boy who helps his grandfather with his beekeeping. While they inspect the hives in their protective clothing, the grandfather takes the opportunity to teach his grandson about different bees and their roles in the hives. Before the cold weather comes, they collect the honey and prepare the hives for the winter. They do sit down to taste the results of their hard work, but not until they return some of the honey to the hives for the bees to eat. The end of the book includes more in-depth information about bees and beekeeping and a recipe for the Apple and Honey Muffins that the boy’s grandmother makes with the newly bottled honey. As the seasons change, different animals appear with a brown cat in the grandparents’ backyard. Words associated with beekeeping appear as bolded text in the story. Beekeeping, which involves teamwork, is demonstrated here by the tasks accomplished by the grandfather and grandson, and by the bees themselves.     web reviews   Tanya Boudreau/2011 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)