"Jam and Honey" is a rhyming picture book that tells a story from two different perspectives. The girl wants berries to make jam. She is afraid of bees that her mother tells her to stand still and the bee will fly away. The bee wants nectar to make honey but is afraid of people. The bee remembers that its mother says people want berries so just fly high. The story ends with the little girl eating jam and honey on toast.

The book is well illustrated and helps move the story along. This book would be best read to maybe the preschool and kindergarten age range. The rhymes are playful and teach the reader to not to be afraid of bees. It's also a great way to introduce the idea of the relationship between humans and nature. ( )

A brief summary:
A little girl decides she is going to pick berries in the park so that she can make herself some jam to eat on toast. She begins to pick her berries, eating some along the way, but becomes fearful as she encounters a bee. She decides that if she stands still then the bee will not bother her and there is nothing to fear. From the bee's perspective, it is simply time to gather some nectar from the neighboring flowers so that he and the others can make some honey. The bee is fearful of the girl, but he decides that there is nothing to fear as she is only after the berries. The book ends as the girls apply eats her toast with jam and honey.

My personal reaction:
I enjoy this book because it provides the perspectives of both the girl and the bee and shows that although both are fearful of one another, they both have no intent to harm one another. Instead, both the girl and the bee are able to coexist alongside each other, one picking berries and the other gathering nectar. I feel like this brings a powerful message to the reader and highlights how we often fear what we do not know, when actually we have nothing to fear at all.

Genre:
Initially I classified this book as realistic fiction but it does have elements of fantasy as it provides the perspective of the bee.

A couple of uses:
- Read this book for an interactive read-aloud at the beginning of a unit on honey bees. The unit could also include the informational picture book Flight of the Honey Bee.
- Use this book to teach about different perspectives. After reading the book aloud as a class, create a chart as a class comparing the perspectives of the girl and the bee.

Media:
Watercolor and pencils ( )

27 months - a cute book that shows both sides of the story from the girl and the bee's perspective. ( )

Gentle, simple, and sweet. ( )

A tale told from two points of view, that of a little girl hunting for berries and a bee hunting for nectar. Both, we are learn, have a goal, are scared of the other, and realize the other is ultimately not a threat. A very gentle tale. Love the moment when the girl and the bee confront each other.

“One for the bucket and one for me.
One for the bucket and one for---

OH!

It’s a bee,
so loud and near,
but if I just stand still,
there’s nothing to fear.” ( )