Unabridged: a Charlesbridge Children's Book Blog

Build a Bee Home With Your Kids - Happy International Bee Day 0

Hello bee-lovers, time to build a bee home!

While May 20^th marks International Bee Day, I think any day can be bee day. As the nicer weather rolls in, here is a fun craft you can do with children to help benefit the bees.

Bee Hotel Craft

Bee hotels are beneficial for solitary bees and wasps, both important for an ecosystem. Providing them a safe place to settle is important for your garden to help with pollination and also pest control (wasps can nom on spiders and other pests). The activity is also a great science project that allows for children to learn about pollinators up close.

This fun hands-on activity allows children to let their creativity buzz as they build a home for bees. A great DIY project to explore animal habitats and socio-environmental systems. This project utilizes materials you may already have around the home if you have children who love doing arts and crafts.

What You’ll Need:

• A can (like a soup or bean can) or a large water bottle
• Art supplies for decorating. Have fun!
• Sheets of color paper
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Tape
• Glue
• One toilet paper roll
• Twigs from outside
• Two pieces of string

Steps:

1.       Carefully remove the top off a used can or bottle. Make sure there are no sharp edges on your can and it’s completely clean and dry.

2.       Decorate the can how you’d like – stickers, paint, construction paper, etc. Let your creativity buzz. Just keep the decorations on the outside so it doesn't harm future guests.

3.       Cut the paper in half. Each piece needs to be a bit shorter than the tin can when you hold them next to each other, with a minimum of six inches.

4.       Use the pencil to roll the paper. It needs to be rolled five or six times to make the tube thick. Tape the roll so it stays and then remove pencil.

5.       Rinse and repeat making the rolls until you have enough to fill the can/bottle.

6.       Cover the bottom of the can with glue and then put the toilet paper roll inside. Put the thinner tubes in the roll and around outside. Make sure not to squish the rolls, you want the bees to fit inside.

7.       Break the twigs to fit inside the can and use them to fill in the open spaces in the can, around the toilet paper roll.

8.       Tie rope around the can, one near the top and another near the bottom. Each piece of string should be long enough to wrap around the can twice and you’ll want another 8 to 12 inches extra to hang from the tree branch.

9.       Now to go to your garden! Find a tree in a sunny part outside and tie it to a branch.

10.   Be sure to mention that it make take a while for a bee to use it as a shelter to help your child's expectations. You can plan to check the bee home occasionally to see if a guest has moved in.

Ta-da! You now have a bee hotel. Keep in mind, bee hotels are entirely for solitary bees and wasps. Each nest is owned by a single female, who lays her own eggs and gathers all the food needed for each offspring.

While bee hotels can be useful, if you’re able, the best option in your garden is to go as natural as you can, and you can do this by giving them access to a place where they can burrow underground with lightly covered soil. The bees who don’t burrow in the ground like to make use of dead wood cavities or hollow plant stems instead. The best areas for them are south or east-facing slopes. They love the sun and the slope ensures it’s well drained.

Building a bee hotel is a simple, creative way to support local pollinators and spark curiosity in young minds. Whether it's Bee Day or any sunny afternoon, this hands-on project helps kids connect with nature while giving solitary bees a safe space to thrive. Happy crafting and buzzing!

Looking for some bee-utiful picture books to read, be sure to check out:

Lola Meets the Bees
by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw
HC: 9781623543839
TR: 9781623545949

Honeybee Rescue: A Backyard Drama
by Loree Griffin Burns, photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz
HC: 9781623542399

Beansprout: A Social Emotional Growth 0

Some of us at Charlesbridge decided to join Ms. Greene's classroom and try to plant our own seeds to see what grows. The experience was very much like Beansprout, written and illustrated by Sarah Lynne Ruel with successes and failures as we tried to grow some wildflowers.

By no means are we experts in growing flowers, this being a new experience for us as we challenged ourselves to do something new.

So we gathered the seeds, flower pots, and soil, and took part in our own version of Ms. Greene's experiment.

With three different size flower pots, we planted wildflowers, watered them with just the right amount of water, not too little, not too much, and with some hope (and not too much expectation), we left it to nature to decide which one of us had a green thumb.

Overall, it was successful as two got cute little buds sprouting . . . and one did not. It was definitely a wave of hope and disappointment and even a little sadness to see the others sprout and nothing much coming out of one of the pots. A calm down corner like in Beansprout would have been nice to have.

Beansprout is the perfect social emotional moment for the classroom as the students face success and  disappointment in their gardening experiments. This book ties in nicely with any gardening and agriculture curriculum while also teaching readers how to deal with their big emotions when things don't turn out how they expected.

Beansprout
Sarah Lynne Reul
Hardcover: 978-1-62354-475-1
Available Now!
$17.99

What happens when you do everything right, but it doesn’t work out? When classmates start having success with their seeds, one student's just won't sprout.

A picture book about planting and growing, where grown-ups and kids can talk about disappointment, emotions, and second chances.

It's seed-planting time in Ms. Greene's classroom! One of the kids has big predictions for their mystery seed and does everything just so to make sure it grows. But as all the other seeds start to sprout, theirs . . . doesn't. 

More Resources:
Beansprout Activity Kit
Author Panel: Celebrating Social-Emotional Learning in 2025
Tissue Paper Printing with Author-Illustrator Sarah Lynne Reul
Sarah Lynne Reul Introduces Beansprout
Support indie bookstores and buy local

Spring 2025 Preview Recap—Enjoy Spring With These Children’s Books 0

Charlesbridge recently held a live Spring 2025 Preview introducing our spring titles. In case you missed the stream, here are some of the books we chatted about. To hear about ALL our books, please check out the video on YouTube.

These spring titles offer young readers heartwarming stories that explore important social-emotional themes like empathy, kindness, and emotional regulation. With colorful illustrations and engaging narratives, these books help children understand their feelings, embrace their uniqueness, and develop emotional resilience in a fun, relatable way.

When Emma is feeling grumpy because she wasn’t invited to the pirate party her brother is going to, she’s left with a bunch of upset feelings. Luckily, her grandmother has just the trick to help her handle her big emotions. With grumble boats. Grandma patiently shows Emma how to draw her grumbles, fold them into a boat, and let them float away on the water.

McFarlane shares this sweet story that addresses key social-emotional themes like emotional regulation, self-care, and how to process negative emotions in a healthy, constructive way.

It’s also a beautiful multigenerational story, highlighting the loving relationship between Emma and her grandmother, perfect for grandparents to share with their little ones.

Back matter also includes a fun reader activity for kids to create their own grumble boats and let go of their own feelings of frustration and sadness. Grumble Boats is such a cute story perfect to help children feel lighter and more equipped to handle life’s little ups and downs.

Non-fiction books for kids are a powerful tool for expanding young minds and fostering a love of learning. These books engage curious readers by diving into real-world topics, providing facts, details, and insights that build knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Baby Loves Meteorology is the latest addition to the popular Baby Loves Science board book series, which introduces the wonders of science to the youngest learners in a fun and accessible way.

In this adorable book, Baby decides what to wear by checking the weather, and through this simple act, little ones are introduced to the basics of meteorology. They’ll learn about wind, the water cycle, precipitation, and weather prediction—all explained in age-appropriate language. With accurate science reviewed by meteorology and climate experts, it’s a reliable resource for introducing STEM concepts in a way that’s both fun and educational.

Baby Loves Meteorology is perfect for early readers, parents, and caregivers who are eager to explore weather and science together. It’s also a great way to spark early conversations about the environment and our planet.

Continuing with Ruth Spiro, the third book in the How to Explain Science series, How to Explain Climate Science to a Grown-Up is a playful, empowering STEM picture book that introduces readers to the complexities of climate science—while encouraging them to teach the grown-ups in their lives.

In this witty and engaging guide, children learn how to explain key concepts like the difference between weather and climate, what causes climate change, and what we can do to help repair the planet. With a fun, conspiratorial narrator and cheeky speech bubbles, this book turns science into a conversation, making it manageable and entertaining for kids. The book includes helpful diagrams, pro tips, and a glossary, allowing curious kids to become climate science experts.

Ruth Spiro’s playful voice will inspire kids to feel empowered, showcasing that anyone—no matter their gender or background—can be a scientist.

Jellyfish Scientist is a captivating STEM biography that brings the fascinating world of ocean science to life through the eyes of a pioneering woman scientist. In this gripping story, Maude Delap embarks on a year-long experiment from 1899 to 1900 to uncover the full life cycle of jellyfish, something no one had ever done before and laying the groundwork for research that continues today.

It offers a real-world example of a determined and innovative woman scientist in a way that is understandable for elementary school students. The story also gives a unique angle on ocean science, as Maude’s work with jellyfish—an animal so many are fascinated by—will engage children and adults alike.

Written by Michelle Cusolito, a renowned ocean science researcher, Jellyfish Scientist combines biography, science, and marine biology all in one, giving kids the opportunity to learn about groundbreaking scientific work, the wonder of jellyfish, and the importance of perseverance in scientific discovery. 

We all love a happy ending. Encouraging readers of all ages to keep trying helps them to gain the skills and confidence to persevere. After all, you never know when your challenge, issue, or trouble will turn into a triumphant win.

Janie Writes a Play is based on the story of how the Hans Christian Anderson of American Youth Literature, Jane Yolen, began her storied career. It also happens to be penned by her daughter, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, a celebrated children’s author in her own right.

Janie Yolen loves to read, write, dance, and sing. So when her teacher announces Janie's elementary class will perform a play, Janie is thrilled. There's just one problem—the play is boring. With the support of her teacher and classmates, Janie rewrites the play, resulting in a hit class musical.

Young, aspiring writers, readers, dancers, and singers will all feel seen and be inspired to use their imagination to its maximum potential within the pages of Janie’s story, which is also perfect for anyone who needs confidence to pursue what they love to do most.

Rebecca Caprara author of Worst-Case Collin is back on our list with another middle grade book, The Ripple Effect.

It’s the end of 5th grade and Zella wants to be the one who thinks of the best class prank. She is on a major quest to uphold her image as class clown and bask in the spotlight.

But when Zella’s class prank flops, the entire class is punished, and Zella is to blame. Zella's given a second chance to make things right, and it turns out that redemption, friendship, and a remarkable chain of kindness tastes even sweeter than her family's famous raspberry ripple ice cream.

It’s a perfect book club pick, and an excellent classroom read-aloud, complete with topics for students and educators to discuss and debate, covering themes of second chances, respecting school rules, and the power of connection.

Our newest released from our Charlesbridge Moves imprint is Werewolf Hamlet.

Angus admittedly has a lot on his plate. But the biggest crisis in Angus’s Hamlet-quoting existence is his 17-year-old brother Liam and his relationship with alcohol. Liam is like a werewolf—Angus never knows if he'll be nice or mean or when he'll sneak out to get drunk or worse. Where did the big brother he loves go?

When Liam doesn’t come home at all, Angus decides it’s his job to find him along with the help of his two closest friends.

Offering up a quick read of a novel that is a safe conversation starter full of earned emotions, Werewolf Hamlet pulls readers emotionally close to its characters and refuses to shy away from emotional reactions, thanks, in large part, to author Kerry Madden-Lunsford’s own experience with her son’s addiction.

This book fits nicely in Charlesbridge Moves imprint’s mission of offering books for reluctant readers by combining humor, characters you want to root for, and a text that offers things like imagined scenes, interstitial discussions between the main character and his older brother, and an assortment of text treatments so that middle graders are not just simply staring at dense pages, and have lots of interesting breaks in the main text as they root for Angus.

And that wraps up our recap for our Spring 2025 titles. Feel free to let us know which books on this list has you most exited to read. Our team is always excited to bring new, fun, and informative books to your shelves!

Want to watch the full video with our spring titles? Check out our video on YouTube.

Want to see our full spring list? Check it out on Edelweiss.

Inspiring Stories of Nonviolent Resistance: A Journey Through "After Gandhi" 0