OUTSIDE AND INSIDE KILLER BEES

Markle continues her first-rate series with this terrific entry on a topic with much kid appeal. From the first line—“Is this a killer bee?”—accompanied by a full-page photo of a pollen-covered bee in flight, readers will begin to think and compare. Can you tell regular bees from killer bees by the way they look? By what they eat? By the honey they make? By how they live? And why is it important to identify killer bees? Through the exploration of that first question readers learn every facet of bees’ anatomy, lifestyle, and importance to our world. Detailed, often captioned photos of such things as the barbs on a bee’s stinger expand on the equally detailed but clear text. Concepts flow easily and the text and illustrations are well-balanced on the page. A glossary defines important terms, which are highlighted in red throughout. Step-by-step, page-by-page, with scores of astonishing photos, Markle presents not only bees but scientific investigation in full glory. (Nonfiction. 7-12)