Rare Bee Novel
Children’s fiction about honey bees is rare and this gem from 1957 is hard to find. A Swarm in June by Rosemary Garland is a charming junior novel that beautifully combines bee lore with childhood wonder. Seven year old Jonathan finds a wild swarm in June (‘worth a silver spoon’) but a visiting cousin is scared of bees. It takes an attack by a stoat to unite the cousins in the end. It’s an innocent tale and the bee wisdom is timeless: beating a gong to attract a swarm; tracking bees with thistledown; and ‘telling the bees’ about important events in our lives. Best of all is the way the boy is so comfortable around the bees. 
Tags: children's books, honey bees, reviews
November 30th, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Lovely to read your review, and see the book profiled. Yes indeed, each time I read this gentle story it delights again and again. My 10 year-old son has already read it repeatedly and loves the story. Seems that Rosemary Garland wrote several children’s books from the 50’s – 70’s (Amazon.com being my sole source of info), a few of which she co-authored with A.A. Milne.