The Dance of the Bees - by Fran Nuño (Hardcover)

About the Book

Enter the world of bees and discover their wonderful powers. A beautiful hymn to nature featuring haikus, set in a quiet corner of Japan.

Book Synopsis

Enter the world of bees and discover their wonderful powers. A beautiful hymn to nature featuring haikus, set in a quiet corner of Japan.

It was summertime when an old lady and her granddaughter decided to spend more time together and make the most out of it by walking through the countryside through the countryside. Grandma was passionate about nature and she enjoyed feeling surrounded by trees and animals, but what she liked the most was watching bees. The little girl enjoyed listening to her grandmother tell her about the amazing life of bees and their extremely important mission for life on our planet. Not a day went by that they did not visit the bees and the girl always learned something new, like that day when she discovered what the dance of the bees was. With each passing day, their bond grew stronger and stronger, and all thanks to those little insects.

But after the years, the little girl, now a woman, returns with her son to the place where her grandmother's house was and, thanks to the dance of the bees, they will discover something that they will never be able to forget.

Review Quotes

"Soft and sweet. The backmatter discusses the history and creative process of writing a haiku, which may inspire proactive caregivers to plan a weekend poetry project." --Kirkus Reviews

"Nuño sets the story in the Japanese countryside, and the book has a classical, almost formal design. Each spread contains an illustration on one side and text on the other, both framed within gently hexagonal borders. On nearly every spread is a haiku, printed vertically next to a small symbol of nature. For instance, an early spread includes this evocative haiku: 'Along the way / the buzzing of bees / and our footsteps.' Underneath is a small bee within a crimson-colored border. In this lovingly designed book (which is printed on environmentally friendly paper with an appealing heft), Celej's muted, earth-toned cut-paper illustrations are spare, textured and feature the elegant lines of traditional Japanese art." --BookPage

"The Dance of the Bees is a beautiful moving picture book about the life of bees and their importance in the world". --Infantilandia.es

About the Author

Fran Nuño was born in Bilbao in 1973 but lives in Seville, Spain. He is a writer, cultural promoter and bookseller-editor. Author of some forty published books, almost all of them children's literature, among which there are novels, stories, poetry, theater pieces, manuals and picture books. He has received several awards and mentions, both for his literary work and for his work in favor of reading. With Fairground Lights (Cuento de Luz) he won the Gold Medal for Best Illustrated Album in Spanish at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2013 and with The Map of Good Memories (Cuento de Luz) he was awarded Best illustrated album for all ages at the New York City Big Book Award 2017. His work has been translated into Galician, Valencian, Catalan, English, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Mandarin and Korean.

Of Polish origin, award-winning illustrator Zuzanna Celej has a BA Honours in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona and majored in Illustration at the Llotja Art School in Barcelona. He has specialized in illustration, fine art photography and printmaking. She is currently mainly dedicated to the publishing world with more than 50 titles inside and outside the country. Her work has been exhibited in Spain, France, England, Italy, Poland and the United States. She has been recognized with national and international awards, including the New York City Big Book Award for Best Illustrated Album, The Map of Good Memories (Cuento de luz, 2016). She combines illustration projects with teaching Plastic Arts in several cultural venues and in his own studio, as well as running workshops in Art Schools Masters.