Jill and the Homeless Bumblebee
David Greaves and Danielle Callaghan
Friends of the Earth
This tale tells of a once happy bumblebee, made homeless when her meadow home is ploughed up by a tractor one day.

With all the wild flowers gone, she is forced to find somewhere else to live, somewhere that wild flowers grow freely; and is aided by a small child (Jill in this instance) in her search.
After many hours and several abortive attempts – thanks to a hedge cutting machine,

crop spraying, harvesting and pollution …

the two finally come upon the ideal place for the bee to settle. A bee-friendly farmer has just the place …

Told in jaunty rhyme, (which does work when read aloud), and illustrated with bold, bright artwork, this timely ‘name’ book supports a very important cause. It’s one I’m more than pleased to support living on the fringes of Stroud, the town that claims to be Britain’s first bee-friendly town, and knowing that numbers of our precious bees are in decline at present, thanks to housing development (yes I know that’s crucial too), as well as intensive farming.
(I was sent this personalized copy by FOE; all proceeds from sales of the book go to the charity and its vital work.)
If you, or anyone you know wants to help, then first head to the Friends of the Earth Bee page: www.foe.co.uk/page/bee-cause
Better still perhaps, especially if you know a child – and that’s pretty much all of us – a personalised book about a Homeless Bumblebee, tailor made with choice of name, skin colour, hair colour etc. from http://www.homelessbee.starringstorys.co.uk especially a bee-auty like this one with a crucial conservation message at its heart, has got to be worth getting.