Omar, the Bees and Me

In this lively book, the creators feature a small girl called Maisie, who becomes the inspiration for a project in their school. Their neighbourhood is grey, dark and noisy. At show and tell one day, a new boy called Omar brings in some of his mother’s honey cake. He tells that his Grandpa used to keep bees, that there were apricot trees and jasmine bushes in his sunny garden, far, faraway. This leads to the children making a paper floral display outside their classroom, and further discussions about honey and bees. It is not long before the children realise, with the help of their teacher, that they could make a REAL bee corridor, from their school to a garden where they knew there was a beehive. But they needed more help; the help of the whole neighbourhood. How they succeed in creating a bee corridor is well told, for the wait is long from when the community joins in planting flower seeds. But come Spring, the magic starts. Soon their gardens are full of buzzing bees, and the neighbourhood is full of activity and colour. There are poppies, cornflowers and foxgloves all the way from their school to the park. The final page has a simple recipe for honey cake…. I tried it and it was delicious! The illustrations frame the story well, and the book begins and ends with spreads of collaged paintings by the children, the bees all grinning ecstatically. Did you know there are more than 20,000 different types of bees? That there are beekeepers in every country in the world? The book reminds readers that every little can help, and by channelling the energies and enthusiasms of the very young, we can change our environments just a little for the better… and form their attitudes for life.