The Great Pollinator Count

Mellie joins other Science Club members for the Great Pollinator Count and discovers the value of teamwork in community science.

Today Mellie and her friends are excited to participate in The Great Pollinator Count. Everyone is hoping that the school garden will attract even more pollinators than they counted last year. Mellie and her friend Sylvie invite Jason, a new kid in their class, to come along. When Jason surprises them by showing up for the count, they find out that he is not at all interested in counting icky bugs.

Mellie is unprepared when Ms. Bombus, their teacher, assigns her to be Jason’s partner. Making the best of an awkward situation, Mellie tries to show Jason how to look for honeybees, butterflies, and other insect pollinators among the lantana and bee balm plants. He hangs back at first, still not convinced he wants to be that close to these buzzy insects, but it isn’t long before he is looking for pollinators on his own.

By the time the whistle blows to end the count, both kids have learned
a lot about pollinators and discovered the rewards of teamwork in community science.

Young readers can count along with Mellie and Jason as they record each insect that lands on a flower and list them on the sidebar tally sheets. When Ms. Bombus finally calls ＂Time’s up,＂ readers will be ready to join a pollinator count in their own community!

Stephanie Fizer Coleman’s charming illustrations give readers a ＂bug’s eye＂ view of the pollination counting process. In the back matter, the author provides a detailed glossary, resources, and information about America’s largest regional pollinator count.

Susan Edwards Richmond is the author of Bioblitz! Counting Crittersand Bird Count, winner of the Parent’s Choice Silver Award and the International Literacy Association’s Primary Fiction Award. A passionate birder and naturalist, Susan teaches preschool on a farm and wildlife sanctuary in eastern Massachusetts. She earned her M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Davis, and is an award-winning poet with five collections of nature-based poetry for adults. She is happiest exploring natural habitats with her husband and two daughters.

Stephanie Fizer Coleman is an illustrator and freelance designer. She has created the art for more than fifty children’s books and loves drawing animals. Stephanie lives and works in West Virginia.