Explore the past ... make sense of the present
Available for Pre-Order!
Release Date 9 March 2027
Hello Reader,
I can’t wait for you to read The Book of Bee: A Tale of Great Peril and Stout Hearts.
It all started one summer day, as I watched a bee, hind end up, legs kicking, inside a petunia. She appeared to be stuck. (She wasn’t.)
But my imagination took flight. What if, I wondered, this bee is a queen honeybee who’s different? What if she refuses to follow the hive’s rules? What if she escapes, but then finds a life far more perilous than the hive she left behind?
Such a bee would need a stout heart.
The what-if questions continued. What if there’s a blustery, know-it-all worker bee? What if there’s a good dog who makes bad decisions when he’s stressed? What if there’s a runaway mouse? What kind of peril will they each encounter? What kind of stout heart will they need?
That question — what if? — is the question that begins many a story.
From the Publisher
A timeless tale buzzing with heart and honeybees about finding your purpose, questioning rules, and the strange sweetness of being, from Newbery Honor-winning author Susan Campbell Bartoletti.
In the beginning, there was a meadow.
And in that meadow there was a hive.
And in that hive, a young queen who refused to follow the rules.
Cast out for her defiance, Queen Bee is thrust into a world far more perilous that the hive she left behind. She must figure out a way to survive in a landscape where danger is constant and the law of nature is anything but fair.
Blending adventure, humor, and heart, this illustrated novel features black-and-white interior art and delightfully cheeky footnotes that add layers of real science and wit. This warm, witty, and wonderfully subversive novel hums with the heart of The Wild Robot and the poignant lyricism of The Tale of Despereaux, proving that even the smallest creature can make a mighty buzz. It’s a story about resilience, friendship, and finding your place in a complicated world.
From the Author
One summer morning, I watched a bee that appeared to be stuck inside a petunia. I scribbled a short poem in my journal:
What Bee This?
So burrowed is she,
deep inside a purple petunia,
hind end up, while all around
sober bees work methodically,
flitting from flower to flower,
hurrying off with pollen-laden legs,
and back again
but not this bee,
so content is she,
drunk on nectar
and hung over.
What if, I thought, this bee is a queen honeybee who feels trapped in her hive? What if she longs for blue sky, the sun warming her wings, and flowers? What if she escapes? That question—what if?—is the question that begins many a story.