Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Crispy Fall Reads: The Hive Detectives by Loree Burns

There are three main sections of this fascinating non-fiction. First, is the work and life of a small beekeeper, Mary Duane. Burns tells us how Duane came to beekeeping and what it means to keep bees as a part of life in Duane's own words, amply illustrated by Ellen Harasimowicz's photographs. The second and main section of the story is the mystery of the bee disappearance, starting with Dave Hackenberg's discovery of millions of missing bees among his thousands of hives. The mystery continues with the work of three scientists, each pursuing a different angle of the problem through research and experimentation. Finally, these two narrative threads are interspersed with facts about the life cycle of bees, honey production, and more.Like all Scientists in the Field books, this is an excellent resource for school reports or for students interested in the lives and work of real scientists. It takes the reader through the steps of a scientific investigation, and shows how science in the real world is very different from a cut and dried experiment in a textbook. As in this example, sometimes the answers aren't found right away - or at all. Science enthusiasts or budding entomologists and apiarists will find much to fascinate them in this excellent book.
Find this book at another library in our system and request it! Ask a librarian for help!

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