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teachinsci's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25
The Way of the Hive is a refresh of the earlier Jay Hosler work Clan Apis. This is the story of the life of a Honey Bee named Nyuki. The book blends a simple story telling Nyuki's life from a larvae to an adult bee and beyond with the science of honey bees and other species they encounter.
Readers will learn information like:
What happens at the various stages in the life of a bee?
How do bees communicate?
What is a swarm?
How dangerous even collecting pollen can be.
This graphic novel would be suitable for middle school through adult readers. The coloration of the story adds to the beauty of the original illustrations and really bring the book to life. I would recommend it to any teacher needing to help students understand insect life cycles or the web of life or to anyone who enjoys a good science read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read a pre-release copy of this book.
Readers will learn information like:
What happens at the various stages in the life of a bee?
How do bees communicate?
What is a swarm?
How dangerous even collecting pollen can be.
This graphic novel would be suitable for middle school through adult readers. The coloration of the story adds to the beauty of the original illustrations and really bring the book to life. I would recommend it to any teacher needing to help students understand insect life cycles or the web of life or to anyone who enjoys a good science read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read a pre-release copy of this book.
alex4allanimals's review
5.0
What a great book! It’s an anthropomorphic tail but also (aside from talking and “human emotion”, the information presented is correct! I think it was a fun and creative way to teach. As a beekeeper for over 15 years, I loved this. It’s a great way to educate kids and adults alike about what the honey bee’s life is like! My only complaint is how sad it was but it’s an important lesson in life which redeems in a happy ending. I love how there is even more info included in the back. I only had one correction: the cells are circles made by the bees, but via deformational physics, the edges squish together to make the hexagon- like two bubbles filling in the gaps!
helpfulsnowman's review
3.0
This is a pretty good book that does a better job explaining the circle of life than that silly song does.
But it's also kind of fucked up.
Not the book. I think the book could actually be a very gentle introduction to death and the utter fucking horror that is nature.
Seriously, nature is totally fucked up.
You'll see video of two little birds cuddling, then a hawk swoops in and just fucking tears one of the birds away. And you're like, "Those birds were in love. And then the bird's just...gone."
Every animal is like a goddamn murderous maniac!
And plants are no better. There's this quote, I think it's from a Swamp Thing comic, and I'll paraphrase:
"You see nature as harmonious. I see that tree strangling that other tree to death over a period of decades in front of its own mother."
Of course, I know people are no better.
I just want to watch nature docs that don't have so much, "Oh, and then this little dude got eaten."
And I know what you're thinking: That's nature. That's how it works. You can't just ignore it.
First of all: The hell I can't!
But secondly, it's not nature.
There's nothing natural about a documentary that follows a pair of penguins raising babies. There's nothing natural about applying narrative to them and romantic feelings to their behaviors. There's nothing natural about Patton Oswalt narrating the whole thing. There's nothing natural about the editing and music and all this shit that makes me invested in these goddamn penguins I never would've known about if I hadn't watched this fucking show.
But it's also kind of fucked up.
Not the book. I think the book could actually be a very gentle introduction to death and the utter fucking horror that is nature.
Seriously, nature is totally fucked up.
You'll see video of two little birds cuddling, then a hawk swoops in and just fucking tears one of the birds away. And you're like, "Those birds were in love. And then the bird's just...gone."
Every animal is like a goddamn murderous maniac!
And plants are no better. There's this quote, I think it's from a Swamp Thing comic, and I'll paraphrase:
"You see nature as harmonious. I see that tree strangling that other tree to death over a period of decades in front of its own mother."
Of course, I know people are no better.
I just want to watch nature docs that don't have so much, "Oh, and then this little dude got eaten."
And I know what you're thinking: That's nature. That's how it works. You can't just ignore it.
First of all: The hell I can't!
But secondly, it's not nature.
There's nothing natural about a documentary that follows a pair of penguins raising babies. There's nothing natural about applying narrative to them and romantic feelings to their behaviors. There's nothing natural about Patton Oswalt narrating the whole thing. There's nothing natural about the editing and music and all this shit that makes me invested in these goddamn penguins I never would've known about if I hadn't watched this fucking show.
saramarie08's review
5.0
Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.
In the beginning, there was the World Flower, spouting planets and stars into existence like pollen. On one of these planets (Earth) is the hive in which we find ourselves. In it, Dvorah is capping the cell of young larva Nyuki, who is scared of metamorphosis and what the rest of life will mean for her. After metamorphosis, Nyuki emerges as an adult bee but is rather scared of the outside world. That is going to work out poorly because there is a new queen in the colony, which means the old queen must lead some of the colony away to a new site. Dvorah is going, and Nyuki must decide. It turns out, Nyuki loves flying, but there are many perils of the outside world, including praying mantis, spiders, and birds! As Nyuki grows up, she finds a special flower with the best nectar and helps cross-pollinate it with a flower across the field. Nyuki inspires a younger forager, Melissa, to become a great forager for the colony.
To begin, I don’t like bees. I enjoy what bees do and appreciate that we wouldn’t be able to eat without them. However, they scare me despite constant reminders that they aren’t out to sting me. That being said, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this story. This was a wonderful graphic novel with a lot of hidden science facts. I learned so much about the evolution of a bee and the life of a colony, and the many predators who are out to make a bee into a snack. There were some really emotional moments as well, despite it being a story that young readers would enjoy. The author was successful in getting me to care about Dvorah and Nyuki, and a little bit Melissa, so their story was touching. The first chapter of this review copy was in color, and it was absolutely stunning. I missed the color initially when the illustrations were just black and white, but within a few pages, I didn’t miss the colors and I enjoyed the illustrations for the details, different line weights, and beautiful expression of the world of these bees.
Sara’s Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 4-8
In the beginning, there was the World Flower, spouting planets and stars into existence like pollen. On one of these planets (Earth) is the hive in which we find ourselves. In it, Dvorah is capping the cell of young larva Nyuki, who is scared of metamorphosis and what the rest of life will mean for her. After metamorphosis, Nyuki emerges as an adult bee but is rather scared of the outside world. That is going to work out poorly because there is a new queen in the colony, which means the old queen must lead some of the colony away to a new site. Dvorah is going, and Nyuki must decide. It turns out, Nyuki loves flying, but there are many perils of the outside world, including praying mantis, spiders, and birds! As Nyuki grows up, she finds a special flower with the best nectar and helps cross-pollinate it with a flower across the field. Nyuki inspires a younger forager, Melissa, to become a great forager for the colony.
To begin, I don’t like bees. I enjoy what bees do and appreciate that we wouldn’t be able to eat without them. However, they scare me despite constant reminders that they aren’t out to sting me. That being said, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this story. This was a wonderful graphic novel with a lot of hidden science facts. I learned so much about the evolution of a bee and the life of a colony, and the many predators who are out to make a bee into a snack. There were some really emotional moments as well, despite it being a story that young readers would enjoy. The author was successful in getting me to care about Dvorah and Nyuki, and a little bit Melissa, so their story was touching. The first chapter of this review copy was in color, and it was absolutely stunning. I missed the color initially when the illustrations were just black and white, but within a few pages, I didn’t miss the colors and I enjoyed the illustrations for the details, different line weights, and beautiful expression of the world of these bees.
Sara’s Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 4-8
magnetgrrl's review against another edition
5.0
Clan Apis is one of the funniest and most moving educational books I've ever read. Jay Hosler's writing is clear and inventive; you don't even notice you're learning a lot while you're reading this. Very much in the vein of what Richard Adams does for rabbits in Watership Down, Hosler does a fantastic job of giving bees strong anthropomorphic character and making them interesting enough to care about. In reading Clan Apis I learned a lot about bees, and a bit about myself. This is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time.
amschelly153's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
fast-paced
4.75
Really clever way to make a bee’s life funny and easy to understand. The complexity of the hive is beautiful and the author nailed this!
kailawil's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. I honestly didn't think I would like this as much as I did. I know so much about bees now.