"Bee Boy - Clash of the Killer Queens" by Tony De Saulles is one of those stories that makes you think - not just about bees (of course) but about the poor state of our planet and what we, non-bee-super-powered-humans are doing to it.
"Bee Boy" is Melvin Meadly. He's half bee and half human, so he can see things from both sides as he sets out to defend his hive against killer wasps, horrible hawkmoths and territorial clashing queen bees.
Bee Boy's human life isn't much better either - it'll take more than a sting in the tale to defend himself against Norman Crudwell, the most horrible bully in school.
The real draw of the Bee Boy books is the glorious fusion of story and fact as we learn an awful lot more about insect species, and of course the importance of bees in our eco system - these are elements that are brought into the story to underpin the action and excitement...
 |
| Dan, the knowledgable neighbour who helps Melvin understand how important saving the earth is. |
Melvin soon realises that there's more than just a hive at stake, there's the whole world...!
 |
| Imagine setting up your own beehive and getting your own honey! See, Dan's got a good idea there! |
It's a great story, full of humour, awesome illustrations and of course an important eco message delivered in a non-preachy and cool way.
A fantastic follow-up to this book, "Attack of the Zombees" is coming in August so watch out for more from Melvin the Bee Boy soon!
A fantastic follow-up to this book, "Attack of the Zombees" is coming in August so watch out for more from Melvin the Bee Boy soon!
"Bee Boy - Attack of the Killer Queens" by Tony De Saulles is out now, published by Oxford Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).