A Reading Group Guide to

Honeybees and Frenemies

By Kristi Wientge

About the Book

Twelve-year-old Flor is excitedly looking forward to a summer hanging out with her best friend at all the fun places: the pool, the movies, and, best of all, the amusement park. Then, like a dropped ice-cream cone, Flor’s plans are ruined when she finds out that Brooke will be gone all summer at band camp. Now, instead of getting her first taste of independence, Flor will be competing alongside her former best friend and current archenemy in the town’s Honey Festival pageant and undertaking community service for Mr. Henry, aka the Old Man on the Hill. Rumor has it that he “keeps Girl Scouts . . . in the freezer next to the boxes of their very own cookies.” To make matters worse, the family’s mattress business is not doing well, and Flor’s parents are fighting over whether it’s time to sell the business and move. Can honeybees help win a pageant? Can enemies become friends? Can Flor’s new ideas help the family stay in their home? Luckily, change can often nudge people in new directions and create new understandings.

Discussion Questions

1. How do the Random Bee Facts relate to each chapter? Consider the fact for chapter three, which states, “Worker Bees don’t get a say in anything. The scouts boss them around and tell them what they can do and cannot do.” In this chapter, Flor has just come in from wearing the mattress costume that her father had her wear to advertise the store. Her mother tells her to take off the costume and dust the book shelves, and then to make tea. How does Flor’s situation remind you of the bees? Can you relate to Flor or the bees in this chapter? What happens in chapter seven that relates to the bee fact about scouts voting on where the hive will live?

2. Define the term frenemies. Do you think it’s possible for someone to be a friend one day and an enemy the next? Why do you think that can make for a challenging relationship? Besides Candice, what other characters might Flor count as frenemies? Do you think family members can be frenemies? What about bees? What can you do to become less of a frenemy and more of a friend? Explain your answers.

3. A dominant female leader in a social clique is sometimes referred to as a queen bee. After reading about honeybees in this novel, why do you think this term is used to describe a person? What traits do you associate with a queen bee? Do you notice these behaviors in any of the characters in this book? If so, how do other characters react to them?

4. Flor says that when she and Candice were in third grade, “Candice joined in when a few of the other girls whispered when I walked by at school. . . . She made fun of me in that quiet way, smiling without laughing at the jokes and listening to the teasing without saying anything.” What does Flor mean by “in that quiet way”? Do you think Candice’s actions are a form of bullying? What do you think you should do if you see someone being bullied? How can you help create a welcoming environment in your classroom or community?

5. Flor’s family runs a small business that sells mattresses. What kinds of responsibilities does her family expect of her? What kinds of chores is she required to perform? How does Flor react to these jobs and expectations? What do you think Flor is learning from the experience? Do you have similar responsibilities in your family? How do these responsibilities make you feel?

6. Besides helping her family, Flor also has to do community service for the Honey Festival. She works at Mr. Henry’s place and at the food pantry. What tasks do she and Candice perform? Describe the girls’ attitudes toward the work. What do you think you would take from the experience? What are other ways to give back to your community?

7. Mr. Henry and Candice provide a lot of information about bees. Mr. Henry talks about how the smoke calms the bees, and Candice tells Flor how to tell if a hive is sick. Discuss information you learned about honeybees. What facts surprised you? What most interested you? Do you feel differently about bees after reading the novel? If so, how have your feelings changed?

8. Flor knows that she tends to be impatient. She explains how the recorder is easier than other instruments and that crochet is less precise than knitting. Using examples from the book, identify other elements of Flor’s personality. How would you describe her to a friend? What qualities do you share with Flor?

9. One of the themes in the novel is competition. What characteristics or feelings do you associate with competition? How do you think competition is perceived in your school or community? How is competition presented in the novel? Who is competing against who, and what do they learn about themselves? Why do you think Flor decides to compete in the pageant?

10. Flor’s father is always talking about sales, telling Flor that “sales is in her blood.” What kinds of tactics does Mr. Valandingham use to sell mattresses? What does Flor do to learn more about sales? What strategies does she try? Have you ever taken part in a bake sale or lemonade stand? How was it set up? What strategies worked best?

11. Flor often doesn’t think her mom, Mina, knows her very well. She wants Flor to be involved in the Honey Festival pageant, even though Flor doesn’t want to participate. Name other times when Flor feels that her mother doesn’t understand her. Why do you think Flor feels this way? How could she and her mother better communicate their feelings?

12. Why do you think Flor’s mom decides the family should move? Do you think she has her family’s best interests at heart? Explain your answers. Have you ever moved away, or had a friend or family member leave? What do you think is the most challenging thing of moving away or having someone else move away?

13. Flor decides she’s going to wear the bee beard while Candice gives a presentation on honeybees. What does Flor do to prepare for her part? How do you prepare to do your best, whether it’s for school, an activity, or other hobbies?

14. Flor says, “I rolled down the window, hoping that when I did, the weirdness between Mom and Dad would have somewhere to escape instead of squishing all of us against the dark blue seats and farther away from each other.” Name other scenes that show Flor’s anxiety about her parents’ relationship. How do Flor’s parents treat each other? How do you feel when your family or friends are not getting along? How do you respond to the “weirdness,” as Flor calls it? What advice do you have for Flor as she goes through this?

15. The way people describe us may not be the same way that we see ourselves. Flor says that the way people describe her makes her feel “like a specialty on display at the chocolate factory.” Candice tells Flor that she only won the Honey Festival pageant in third grade because she was “mixed.” Why do you think Candice made this comment? Think about how you treat others, and how they treat you. Has someone described you in a way that you don’t identify with?

16. What do you think of Fran’s cooking? Why do you think Fran puts so much energy into her work at the food pantry? What does Fran’s cooking tell you about her character? Do you have something you’re equally as passionate about? Describe your passion.

17. Explain how Flor and Candice mend their friendship. What does each girl learn about the other? Have you ever been in a friendship breakup? Why did your relationship with that person change, and how did you leave things? How would you go about repairing a relationship in your life?

18. Mr. Henry is a complicated character. When we first meet him, he is a solitary, grumpy, and even scary man who appears to be a wealthy hermit. As the girls start to work in his garden and eventually with his bees, they change their opinions of him until Flor discovers something else about him. Why does Flor turn against him? Do you believe Flor’s sister’s analysis that Flor is being selfish? What makes Flor rethink her opinion? After finishing the book, how do you feel about Mr. Henry?

Extension Activities

1. Plan a dinner menu that you think Fran might use, and determine a reason for making that meal. Is it for a celebration, an apology, a way to cheer up someone who’s down? What ingredients will you need, and how will you prepare the food? Is there anything you’d add or change to the recipe? Imagine how family or friends might react to the meal, and then write an essay about how food brings people together and generates more than just nourishment. What might you make as an apology to someone you’ve hurt? What might you make for a celebration? What might you make to show someone you care about them?

2. Write a letter to either a real or imaginary frenemy. Describe your relationship while you were friends, and after? What do you miss about them? Write about what needs to change for this person to become a true friend again. Write about how you can take responsibility for your actions and how you plan to improve. Afterward, reflect on what it was like to write the letter. Is it easy for you to be honest? Does thinking back on past incidents or feelings change how you feel about them now? What do you hope will come from this exchange?

3. Organize a class talent show. What planning and logistics are involved? What kind of talent would you choose to perform? How would you invite people to attend? What did you learn from your experience? Include challenges as well as successes. What improvements would you make for next time?

4. Illustrate some of your favorite Random Bee Facts. These can be hand drawings, clip-art from websites, or even 3-D sculptures. They can take the form of a comic strip, cartoons, or realistic imagery. Be sure to label your drawings with the facts.

5. Write a short story about Flor moving back to Honeydale one year later. Has anything in the town changed? Describe what happens when Flor and Candice see each other again. Describe Flor and Brooke’s reunion. Have Brooke and Candice changed? Describe Flor and her reactions to Honeydale.

6. Watch a video to learn more about beekeepers and bee beards. Here is one that is both funny and informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU1eoXYN2Rc. How might you educate people on the importance of bees in your school or community? How can you help spread awareness?

7. Make a list of any remaining questions you have about honeybees. Being careful to use reliable resources, use the Internet or your school library to find the answers to your questions. Ask your friends and family members these questions, and see how much they know about honey and honeybees.

8. There are many large numbers associated with honeybees, taken from the novel’s Random Bee Facts:

It takes 500 to 1,100 bee stings to be fatal.

15,000,000,000 dollars’ worth of fruits, nuts, and vegetables are pollinated by bees annually.

Bees can carry 122 times their weight—while flying.

A queen bee can lay up to 2,500 eggs a day!

Collect more numerical bee facts from books in your school library or on the Internet. Visuals can aid in understanding enormous numbers; use PowerPoint or another program that allows you to create charts, or draw them by hand. Think about how best to depict the number 500: What kind of scale should you use? How will you illustrate one billion? How can you show what it means to “times” something, such as “122 times their weight”?

9. Be an architectural engineer, and draw a diagram of a man-made beehive. Research this by looking at videos and drawings, or perhaps come up with your own design keeping in mind what bees need to survive. What colors would you paint your beehive? Where would you place it?

10. Make a stop-motion video of someone growing a bee beard. You can use Claymation and/or drawings. Decide whether to include background music or sound effects: would you do a voiceover to explain the procedure, or create a silent movie? Think about the tone, and whether you’d like the video to be serious, humorous, instructional, or a combination. What would you want people to learn from the video? Alternatively, you could write out a script and draw film panels to plan a movie.

Guide written by Shari Conradson, an English, drama, and history teacher in California.

This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.