By Toni Burnham

Want to offer a marvelous resource during your children's education and outreach efforts? With summer coming, and the local fairs, camps, scouting events, church schools and more that invite beekeepers to share our passion for pollinators, this is a great time to add to your toolbox! The suggested age range is pre-K to 5th grade, though there is something for all ages (even grown ups)!

You could not do better than the recently released coloring book, I Spy with all 5 Eyes ... Pollinator Activity Book written by Charlotte Hubbard and Kimi Baker with artwork by Carolyn Fink.

I Spy with My 5 Eyes is cleverly designed to entice and entertain young readers, while they unsuspectingly learn an amazing amount about Apis mellifera! Kids are introduced to the character of "Blossom the Bee" right away, and told she will be hiding on many of the 40 pages of colorable drawings, puzzles, mazes, and even finger puppets! While searching for Blossom, kids learn about bee anatomy and colony members, beekeeping, products of the hive, and so much more.

Kids are also introduced to the wider world of pollinators, and are asked to imagine themselves as one. Topics such as pollinators'' role in food production, habitat needs and even migration receive thoughtful attention.

The coloring book, available in English with Spanish subtitles, was created in 2024 by a professional educator, a professional writer, and a professional artist–from the Kalamazoo Bee Club and in collaboration with the Michigan Beekeepers Association.

As a beekeeper active in elementary schools for over ten years now, I have found this fresh and up-to-date tool to be eagerly accepted by my students, helping them to take the (unfortunately) short time we have with them in the classroom and stretch it into funtime at home. Since kids learn in many different styles, having this art-affiliated tool with many different ways to access and apply information is just terrific in partnership with traditional schoolwork. Parents have also commented on the quality of the book, as well as the amount of time their kids are willing to spend working with it!

Ordering info, from https://kalamazoobeeclub.com/i-spy/

ISBN: 978-0-9915834-5-4 
Suggested donation: 2 for $5.00, or 48 for $35.00 English-only, bilingual is $45 (more pages).

This publication has also been used as a fundraiser by garden and civic groups (hello, local bee clubs!) and is transaction-ready with a bar code for $2/copy.