A Hive for the Honeybee, a (hc) - Hardcover

Lally, Soinbhe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 059051038X ISBN 13: 9780590510387

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999

About this title

Review:

"Back in the hive, Thora stood on the edge of the stores of ripening honey and fanned her wings incessantly. She had fanned all day in spite of the commotion and excitement. The song of the swarm had hummed all around her but she remained dutifully at her post. She was a house bee, just three days old."

When we first meet Thora the worker bee in this anthropomorphic allegory, she's thinking only of her responsibilities to the hive and her Queen. She must fan the wax combs, clean brood cells, and tidy up after the filthy, lazy drones (who spend the bulk of their time drunk on honey). Soon the imperious, efficient Belle takes Thora under her wing, teaching her the ways of workers and revealing her furious dislike of drones. But when Thora meets her first male bee, a "nice idiot" named Alfred, she can't help thinking he's helpless and handsome. It is through the poetic Alfred that Thora meets Mo, an opinionated rabble-rouser and vocal supporter of free thought who causes Thora to think outside the hive--if only briefly.

Irish author Soinbhe Lally crafts a compelling tale that buzzes along swiftly and is highlighted with the spindly, whimsical illustrations of Patience Brewster. Lally melds fascinating information about the workings of a hive--the queen, workers, brood combs, drones, pollen, wax cells, and honey--with an engaging story line that is satisfying on both a literal and metaphorical level. Although the book's role as a larger allegory of society and destiny may be initially lost on some readers, its deeper meanings will eventually seep in with the steady inevitability of honey. (Ages 10 and older) --Brangien Davis

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-Based on the real world of the honeybee, this unusual fantasy is humorous and profound. As he is dying, Alfred, poet laureate of the beehive, composes his last poem, "Life is/A sip of honey/Yesterday." Of course, his life as a drone has indeed been "A sip of honey," since his only function has been to be a potential mate to the queen on her nuptial flight. Like all drones, he has spent the rest of his time getting drunk on honey, messing up the hive, and acting self-important. But Alfred is a bee full of intellect who despairs of the other drones' inability to understand metaphorical thinking, and he finds consolation in the friendship he develops with Mo, a radical drone who questions why things need to be the way they are; with Thora, a worker bee with imagination; and with efficient and straightforward Belle. Reminiscent of Richard Adams's Watership Down (Macmillan, 1974) in its artful and complete creation of the world of an animal group, Lally's novel also holds up a mirror to our society. Who is in charge here? Why do we continue to act as if other creatures are our enemies? What is the reason for our life? What is our destiny? Why do we die? Thora, Mo, and Alfred search for answers to these questions, and yet the life of the hive continues in the same way it always has. Pencil sketches full of energy, delicacy, and humor show bees with human faces, easily recognizable as Thora, Belle, Mo, and Alfred, whose lives readers follow until they die and are replaced by new workers and drones. Memorable in every way.
Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 059051038X
• ISBN 13: 9780590510387
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240
• Illustrator: Brewster Patience