I heard somewhere once that a sign of a good book is one that can make you cry, make you laugh, warm your soul and make you question the world you live in – this book has done just that.
I’m not the best wordsmith around and I do not think I can’t express how much this book resonated with me.
The History of Bees, told by Maja Lunde is a story told through the eyes of three parents in three different time periods.
Tao lives in 2098, China, George in 2007, USA and William in 1851, England. Each of these characters have children of their own and each of these parents are trying to create the best world that they can for their children – the way they think they should be.
Listening to a recent podcast on parenting, this book made so many links. Research shows that as parents we all have set ideals on how our children should act in the world and we believe that by acting a certain way or saying certain things that we are going to shape our children the way we see best. But as you read on in this story you can see that despite every parent’s effort to make their children a certain way – each child chooses their own path and explores the world they want to.
BUT – don’t despair, the children are influenced by the good actions of their parents, just in a different way they expected.
The children in this story are strong, smart and determined. The encompass free thinking, risk taking and problem solving. They show how much love parents have for their children despite the path they take.
The History of bees explores Bees through story. You will learn about one of the first beehives that was created to carefully extract honey without disturbing the bees, a farmer who experiences Colony Collapse Disorder on all of his hives and a mother who lives in futuristic China where people are the pollinators of flowers as all the bees have died.
I cried as I finished the last few chapters. I cried with happiness, sadness and concern. If the world means anything to you and if you have children – this book will mean so much more.
We need bees and one of the key messages in this book is how important it is for us to keep bees in a more sustainable way, stop the mass production of honey or crops and learn to live in more harmony with the world.
Maja Lunde has written many wonderful books but this is one you must read today.
What else can you do with this book?
Buy local honey (we love this honey!!)
Look at Save the bees website and support what they are trying to do in Australia.
Check out my other posts on bees! :
The Battle of Bug World by Karen Tyrell
