The Nature Book I’m Buzzing About

The Hidden Rainbow
Written & Illustrated by Christie Matheson
Age Level: 1-4 Years
Published June 9, 2018

Take Caroline’s word for it, this book is that relaxing.

Do you love bees as much as you love flowers? You should.

Thanks to this book, every time my daughter spots a bee buzzing among the flowers on our walks she exclaims, “It’s pollinating!” In The Hidden Rainbow, you and your little one will help busy, hungry bees pollinate their way through spring. 

The book opens with one brave little bee emerging from his hive when there’s still snow on the ground. He’s looking for bright colors because that is where he will find the yummy nectar and pollen that he’s searching for, and he needs your help! Little hands are instructed to brush snow off budding camellia trees, tickle the petals of newly emerged tulips, and blow raindrops from recently showered forget-me-nots. Then the bees buzz in and do their job, dutifully spreading pollen around so that plants can grow fruits and seeds. As a result of your hard work, beautiful rainbows of flowers and fruit trees painted in breathtaking watercolors bloom and blossom across full 2-page spreads.

“One little bee peeks out to see
a world of grey and snow.
She’s looking for bright colors.
And she needs you to help them grow.”

In addition to teaching young readers the importance of bees to our food supply, each page is dedicated to a color of the rainbow and prompts readers to count the number of bees (ascending from 1 to 10) buzzing in the flowers. I love that the lessons are woven completely naturally throughout the book so it feels more like taking a stroll in the garden than sitting down with a colors and counting book. 

Oh and those favorite colors I was talking about earlier? Plant an abundance of yellow, blue, indigo, violet, and white in your gardens and the bees will thank you!

To learn more about this book, read an interview with author Christie Matheson here.