Alison Jay has created, with her gorgeous, trademark illustrations, a wordless tale about the beauty of bees and how vital they are to our world.
The story follows a little city girl who befriends a rain-sodden bee--who soon becomes quite anthropomorphised. They have picnics together, they play together, and all the while, the bee grows and grows and grows.
As their friendship develops and the bee takes on epic proportions, the bee begins to pine for the country life--for the natural world of flowers and plants. The city doesn't have many blooms, so the two friends come up with a plan.
They head to the countryside where they gather up seeds, and sprinkle them through the city streets. The seasons pass by, and the seeds begin to sprout... then who should arrive? The butterflies and bees and other insects we so love and so need for a balanced world.
Nature, friendship and the future combine in Bee-&-Me. Along with an addendum page on bee facts, this would make an ideal book for schools and libraries--as well as a honey-sweet story for enjoying at home. I love that the wordless nature of the book allows the pictures to do the talking--a beautifully subtle way to impart this important ecological message to kids.
Title: Bee-&-Me
Author/Illustrator: Alison Jay
Publisher: Old Barn Books, $24.99
Publication Date: 1 July 2016
Format: Hard cover
ISBN: 9781910646052
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book