Bruno the Beekeeper A Honey Primer

Follow a beekeeping bear through the seasons—and learn about the life cycle and ecology of bees—in this folksy step-by-step guide to caring for hives and harvesting honey.

With glowing, honey-hued illustrations and friendly text, this homespun year-in-the-life of a busy beekeeper and his bees is a definitive picture book primer—whether for families contemplating a new hobby or for readers just curious to know how bees make honey. Follow Bruno the bear through the seasons, beginning in late summer, as he demonstrates how he keeps his bees healthy and happy, from housing and maintaining the hive to harvesting honey and beeswax. Learn the anatomy and life cycle of bees, the difference between workers and queens, what flowers bees pollinate, and what predators they avoid. Gracefully translated from the original Czech—and paired with charming folk-style art that evokes the rural setting and cozy kitchen of a blended beekeeping family (complete with Grandma’s recipe for homemade honey-gingerbread cookies)—this charming ode to sustainability and fostering nature’s small wonders will delight readers of every stripe.

Aneta Františka Holasová studied illustration and graphics at the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic. She is the author-illustrator of several books and has had her work featured in Raketa magazine. Bruno the Beekeeper (originally titled Lumir vcelari) is her English-language debut. Aneta Františka Holasová lives in the Czech Republic.

Andrew Lass was born in New York City and grew up in Prague. He is a scholar, poet, fine art photographer, graphic artist, and translator and was the Ford Foundation Professor of Anthropology at Mount Holyoke College. He lives in Massachusetts.