Flight of the bumblebee by Hazel Edwards

Ill. By Mini Goss. CD narrated by Antonia Kidman. New Frontier, 2009.
(Ages 5-8) The first in the Music Box series, Flight of the bumblebee is a clever combination of a story and a piece of classical music. Bumble is a little honeybee who has no sense of direction. He bumps into branches and misses petals when he should be collecting pollen. It is not until the kind Drone gets him to fly to Flight of the bumblebee, a piece of music about a king and a bee-prince, that he able to find his way.
This is a captivating story by Hazel Edwards, with amusing illustrations by Min Goss. The story will stand-alone if read by a teacher, but the addition of the wonderful background music by the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in Antonia Kidman's narration makes it something very special indeed. The music is such a fine piece and will be a wonderful introduction to classical works for young children. There is a section about the composer and the origins of the music at the back of the book.
A useful addition to the library or for classroom use this story can be read aloud by the teacher or the students can listen to the CD. In the classroom it will be a boon for teachers wanting to give students a taste of classical music or are looking for literature to use when teaching a unit on insects. Teacher's notes are also available.
Pat Pledger