Bee Friendly Reading List for Educators + Advocates
The Bee Friendly Reading List compiles classroom favorites, personal book shelve must-haves, and beekeeper recommendations. This Reading List is updated often, and every entry will include the suggested grade level, Lexile Level, guided reading level, genre, and Read Aloud Link if available.
This Reading List is Organized from Pre-K to 9-12 And Beyond.
Please Please the Bees, by Gerald Kelley
Grade Level: Pre K-1 | Lexile Level: 510L | Guided Reading Level: L | Genre: Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
National Geographic Readers: Buzz, Bee! by Jennifer Szymanski
Grade Level: Pre K-1 | Lexile Level: 330L | Guided Reading Level: F | Genre: Non-Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
The Thing About Bees: A Love Letter, by Shabazz Larkin
Grade Level: Pre K-1 | Genre: Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
Kaia and the Bees, by Maribeth Boelts
Grade Level: Pre K-1 | Genre: Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
Bea’s Bees, by Katherine Pryor
Grade Level: K-1 | Lexile Level: 550L | Guided Reading Level: N | Genre: Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
Try’umsee’s Wings (Gullah Folktale), by Patricia Bee and Vernell Dummeyer
Grade Level: Pre K-3 | Genre: Fiction
The King of Bees, by Lester Laminack
Grade Level: K-2 | Lexile Level: AD600L | Guided Reading Level: O | Genre: Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
The Flight of the Honeybee, by Raymond Huber
Grade Level: K-2 | Lexile Level: AD840L | Guided Reading Level: O | Genre: Non-Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
The Bee Tree, by Patricia Polacco
Grade Level: K-5 | Lexile Level: AD680L | Guided Reading Level: M | Genre: Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
Magic School Bus: Inside a Bee Hive, by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degan
Grade Level: 1-5 | Lexile Level: AD610L | Guided Reading Level: P | Genre: Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
Give Bees a Chance, by Bethany Barton
Grade Level: 1-5 | Lexile Level: AD590L | Guided Reading Level: M | Genre: Non-Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
Honey in a Hive, by Anne Rockwell
Grade Level: 1-5 | Lexile Level: AD880L | Guided Reading Level: Q | Genre: Non-Fiction
Sting, by Raymond Huber
Grade Level: 1-5 | Genre: Science Fiction
The World of Bees, by Cristina Banfi
Grade Level: 2-3 | Genre: Non-Fiction
Bees in the City, by Andrea Cheng
Grade Level: 2-3 | Lexile Level: 600L | Guided Reading Level: P | Genre: Fiction
Life and Times of the Honeybee, by Charles Micucci
Grade Level: 3-5 | Lexile Level: IG910L | Guided Reading Level: N | Genre: Non-Fiction
Flower Talk, by Sara C. Levine
Grade Level: 2-5 | Lexile Level: AD570L | Guided Reading Level: Q | Genre: Non-Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
Bees Matter, by Erika Wassel
Grade Level: 3-6 | Lexile Level: 860L | Guided Reading Level: S | Genre: Non-Fiction
The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees, by Sandra Markle
Grade Level: 3-6 | Lexile Level: 980L | Guided Reading Level: W | Genre: Non-Fiction
What If There Were No Bees?: A Book About the Grassland Ecosystem, by Suzanne Buckingham Slade
Grade Level: 4-5 | Lexile Level: 890L | Guided Reading Level: N | Genre: Non-Fiction
Zinnia and the Bees, by Danielle Davis
Grade Level: 4-5 | Lexile Level: 710L | Guided Reading Level: Q | Genre: YA Fiction
Bees: A Honeyed History, by Piotr Socha
Grade Level: 4-5 | Genre: Non-Fiction | Read Aloud Link: Here
The Bee Maker, by Mobi Warren
Grade Level: 6-8 | Genre: YA Science Fiction
Beekeeper’s Lab: 52 Family-Friendly Activities and Experiments Exploring the Life of the Hive, by Kim Lehman
Grade Level: 6-8 | Genre: Instructional
The Beginners Guide to Beekeeping, by Samantha Johnson and Daniel Johnson
Grade Level: 6-8 | Genre: Instructional
Natural History: A Selection, by Pliny the Elder
Grade Level: 9-12 and Beyond | Genre: Popular Science
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
Grade Level: 9-12 and Beyond | Genre: Fiction
The Murmur of the Bees, by Sofia Segovia
Grade Level: 9-12 and Beyond | Genre: Fiction
The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild, by Thomas Seeley
Grade Level: 9-12 and Beyond | Genre: Non-Fiction
100 Plants to Feed the Bees, by The Xerces Society
Grade Level: 9-12 and Beyond | Genre: Guidebook
Looking to expand your classroom’s reading activities? Check out the Bee Cause Literature Circle Teacher’s Guide. This activity is currently mapped to standards for Grades 3-5, and is easily adapted to other levels.
