Tag bees

Bees, Trees and Planet Earth

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Bees
Trees
illustrated by Carmen Saldaña
Please Help Planet Earth!
illustrated by Paulina Morgan
Ladybird Books

It’s never too soon to introduce young children to the environment protection cause and these sturdy books offer a good starting point.

Devoting each of its six spreads to a different aspect of Bees, young children are introduced to the vital role these little insects play in keeping the planet healthy; explains the role of bees in pollination; takes readers inside a honeybee hive; looks at honey and beekeepers; explains why the number of bees is in decline and finally suggests some ways in which everyone can help save these important little creatures.

Trees is similar in structure. First is an explanation if their importance to all life on earth. Second is a simple look at the various parts of a tree and their interconnectedness. There’s a spread on seasonal changes; another presenting some of the thousands of different kinds of tree and deforestation and its consequences is briefly discussed while the final spread is again ‘How can you help?’. Carmen Saldana’s illustrations are child-friendly and in both books there are flaps to explore on every page.

In Paulina Morgan’s diverse, alluring scenes Planet Earth itself takes the narrative role in the third book, issuing an earnest plea for help to protect its various ecosystems and their flora and fauna by making small but crucial changes to the way we live.

In keeping with their ‘protecting our planet!’ theme, all three books are made from recycled board and printed with plant-based inks.

The Bumblebear

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The Bumblebear
Nadia Shireen
Jonathan Cape
The pupils at Bee School have more than a little surprise when a newcomer arrives on the scene. It’s none other than Norman, a honey-loving creature with a plan to satisfy his constant desire for the sticky stuff …

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Norman loves his lessons but there’s one particular bee, Amelia, who has her suspicions about him right from the start. After a bit of investigation, it looks like she’s on to him …

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but the other bees are unconvinced.
Determined to prove her point and unmask Norman once and for all, Amelia sets a trap, one that Norman finds irresistible and pretty soon he’s well and truly rumbled …

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Poor Norman is immediately expelled from Bee School, which rapidly becomes a much quieter, less fun place for the other pupils.
Come night-time, another animal arrives on the scene, one that terrifies the bees and sends them tumbling and bumbling out of the hive in a panic. This creature is not to be moved though, no matter how hard the bees try …

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but then, out of the forest comes a huge buzzing creature …
Guess who is a hero now?
Nadia Shireen has created some wonderful characters and now she’s added the adorable Bumblebear to their number. (the real bees are pretty darn cute too). With plenty of suspense and expressions such as “What the jiggins?” this yummily funny story is great to read aloud and has been very well received by all I’ve shared it with.

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Bee-&-Me

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Bee-&-Me
Alison Jay
Old Barn Books
Currently living just outside Stroud, Britain’s ‘First Bee Friendly town’ I knew straightway I wanted to review this wonderful wordless book. Wordless it may be but every spread, nay every single picture speaks for itself. The story’s set in a city, a very busy one where, in an apartment block, resides a little girl. Now, like me you probably dislike being buzzed at by bees, let alone stung, so I suspect the girl would have had your sympathies, had she whacked the bee that bothers her. But something stops her. Instead she does this …

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followed by …

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and some time later, she carefully releases the creature, thinking, one imagines, that’s that.
But along comes a rainstorm and what should reappear at the window looking bedraggled and in need of some T.L.C. but Bee.
And that is the start of a burgeoning friendship …

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full of adventures that take the two far afield and back again. Back with some of nature’s bounties

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that will ultimately yield not only benefits, but beauty and joy to those residing in the city, be they human or bee.

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There is gentle humour running throughout this uplifting tale or rather tales, for this is a multi-layered, multi-faceted telling. One facet shows another unfolding friendship – one between the girl and the boy living above in the same block of flats. And there is a multitude of incidental stories to conjure up through the glimpses of other people’s lives shown through the windows of the neighbouring apartments.
Pictures are such a powerful means of storying: in the right hands, as eloquent as words and just as thought-provoking, as Alison Jay so adroitly demonstrates here. Is it the floral curtains that draw Bee to the girl’s apartment? The passage of time is conveyed through Bee’s growth, and the coming of autumn by the leaves blowing through the city street and the pumpkins outside the florist’s shop –

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Words do have their place though – after the story’s end. With a final ‘BEE AWARE!’ information page, giving facts and helpful hints on bee requirements and preferences, readers themselves can take up the vital role of BEE-ing friendly.

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