The Way of the Hive by Jay Hosler

The Way of the Hive follows the life of a honeybee in clever graphic-novel style.

The Way of the Hive: A Honey Bee’s Story by Jay Hosler. Harper Collins, 2021, 52 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10

Recommended for: ages 8-14

It all started with the BIG BLOOM. Before that was nothing. But then a bud appeared, and “once it started, it couldn’t stop.” Light and life radiated from its petals, eventually forming planets, stars, space, oceans, dry land, and finally one brave amphibian who crept out of the water . . . to discover the insects had already taken over. Especially bees! Or at least, that’s their story.

We hear it as a bedtime tale told to a sightless larva in its waxy cell. Nyuki can’t see but she can talk, and has a smart mouth to boot. Her nurse, Dvorah, provides a stream of instruction until, and even after, Nyuki has emerged from the cell with wings and thorax, etc. The New bee has a lot to learn yet, for every worker bee fulfills a number of jobs before expiring, and some of those jobs Nyuki refuses to do. Too risky. But “There’s risk in living,” Dvorah reminds her: “. . . You can’t hide from that in the hive.”

If any of this sounds familiar, you might have encountered this story as a kid, presented as a series of softcover comics called Clan Apis. Its reintroduction as a hardcover introduces the next generation to this totally engaging examination of Apis Miliferra. The author/illustrator, “a biology professor by day and a scheming cartoonist by night,” makes even a gray blob of larva look adorable. Back-matter provides diagrams and biology notes to each chapter. The evolutionary slant is clear in the first chapter and in the appendix, but it’s not overwhelming. Both kids and adults will enjoy the adventures of Nyuki, and learn something too. Such as, Nyuki is Swahili for “bee.”

Overall rating: 4.25

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5
• Artistic/literary value:5

Read more about our ratings here.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Review: Honeybee is one of last year’s most celebrated picture books.
• Reviews: Graphic “novels” (actually graphic nonfiction) are a great way to learn history painlessly. See our reviews of Nathan Hale’s Major Impossible and Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood.

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