A Bear’s Guide to Beekeeping

This entertaining picture book is a step-by-step guide for any bear who wants to become a successful beekeeper. Bears will learn essential skills, such as how to identify and catch bees, build a hive, harvest honey and what to do in the event of an emergency. Keen to give beekeeping a go, Bear attempts to follow these simple instructions. However, things don’t always go according to plan, despite the intervention of a helpful bird who attempts to steer Bear in the right direction.

Attractive, colourful artwork depicting Bear’s mishaps is full of witty detail and provides an alternative visual narrative which contrasts with the text. The comical characters are full of personality and there’s a particularly delightful illustration of the bees lounging about in the hive, as Bear has forgotten to introduce a queen bee to keep them in order.

The endpapers contain some fun bee facts, such as how bees can fly up to 20 miles per hour and they do a waggle dance to tell their fellow bees where the best flowers can be found. There is also an advert at the end for a Bearkeeping book, aimed at any bees who want to keep bears.