The Beehive – A celebration of Australian native bees by Megan Daley

Earlier this term, Teacher Librarian and St Peters Old Scholar, Megan Daley (1993), launched her debut children's picture book titled The Beehive. Illustrated by Max Hamilton and published by Walker Books, this book celebrates Australian native bees, the unsung heroes of pollination. The engaging and informative narrative follows Willow, who is eagerly awaiting a special day at her school: hive day. On this day, the school's groundskeeper, Tom, will divide the native stingless beehive, allowing Willow to take home her own hive. Woven into the storyline are fascinating facts about Australian native bees and practical tips on hive care. We spoke with Megan about her inspiration behind the story, her experience in creating a picture book, and her aspirations for The Beehive. 

Congratulations on your new book! How does it feel to have it finally out in the world?

Rather surreal! This book began five years ago so it’s rather strange (and lovely!) to have it in my hands and on the shelves of bookshops and libraries.

What inspired you to write a book specifically about Australian native bees?

I have been fascinated by bees since I was a small child walking through my grandparents' farm and having Grandad pointing out the colony of white hives on the hill behind their house — the European honeybee hives of a local commercial beekeeper. My Agriculture teacher at St Peters, Mr Barry Jahnke, nurtured my love of the Australian landscape and taught me about the importance of our native flora and fauna. I first did beekeeping here at St Peters, but it was native bees that really fascinated me. There are over 2000 varieties of Australian native bees and I felt it was high time they had their time in the spotlight!

Are there specific aspects of native bee behavior or characteristics that you found particularly fascinating to share with readers?

Great question! I absolutely love that the bees can regulate the temperature of their hive. On a really hot day, you may notice native bees around the entrance of the hive, beating their wings. They are actually fanning cool air inside the hive — so clever!

How do you hope The Beehive  will contribute to raising awareness about Australian native bees, especially among young children?

Bees are the most fabulous pollinators on the planet and I hope that The Beehive will pique children’s interest in our Australian native bees, perhaps even be inspired to have their own hive at home! The Tetragonula Carbonaria bees we have here at St Peters are our local Queensland bees and are perfect for the backyard or educational setting. I hope that through reading (and re-reading) The Beehive young children and keen bee enthusiasts will learn more about how to spot Australian native bees, plant bee-friendly gardens and understand more about the vital role they play in our food cycle.

Could you tell us about the collaboration process with illustrator Max Hamilton?

Many years ago, I wrote a review of Max Hamilton’s first book, and she sent me one of her beautiful bee prints as a thank you — it has hung in my office for many years. When I was writing the book, the publisher Walker Books asked if I had any preferred illustrators for my text and I included Max’s name on this list. Authors and illustrators don’t usually get to collaborate, so Max took the text and added her style to the story. The illustrations are watercolour and pencil and I love all the little details she has included.

Are there any details in the illustrations that you find especially meaningful?

Oh yes! The stepdad pictured on one of the spreads is taken from a photo on my partner's Instagram. He is a commercial beekeeper and a wonderful stepdad to my girls. I love that Max included his image in the book. The other detail I adore is that in the opening spread, the main character, a little girl called Willow (my daughter Georgia Willow) is holding a copy of a Winnie-the-Pooh book. Max didn’t know then that I used to collect vintage Winnie-the-Pooh books, because of Pooh Bear’s love of bees and honey! When I first saw this spread I assumed I must have told her, but it was just a beautiful coincidence, a special detail for me.

How can parents, teachers and librarians use your book to teach children about Australian native bees?

As a teacher, it was really important to me that my book was engaging and had an educational angle to it — hence it being a narrative non-fiction title — it has a narrative text and a non-fiction text, which can be read together or separately. There are also great teachers’ notes that accompany the book, on the Walker Books website. St Peters teacher librarian Christina Wheeler did the teachers’ notes and they have many ideas about how to use the book in the classroom. When I have been conducting bee education classes at bookstores and early childhood centres, I have been reading books and doing some research on the types of plants native bees like and doing bee-ish crafts and honey cooking!

You wrote a non-fiction book and edited an anthology before writing The Beehive. What were the most rewarding aspects of working on this picture book?

My other books have been for grown-ups so it’s completely magical to have a book that can be read and enjoyed by our youngest readers. I found it far more difficult to write the text of a picture book than I did a 70,000-word non-fiction book but it was rewarding wrangling the words!

Do you have any other children's books in the works?

I have a top-secret book project with Your Kid’s Next Read (my podcast and book group) and a potential second narrative non-fiction picture book in the works, but I am always writing or thinking about writing so watch this space!

Megan Daley is a Teacher Librarian and early years educator, the author of 'Raising Readers' (UQP, 2019) and 'The Beehive' (Walker Books, 2024), and editor of 'Teacher, Teacher' (Affirm Press, 2023). She has been awarded the Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year, Queensland Teacher Librarian of the Year and the national Dromkeen Librarian’s Award. A former national vice-president of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, Megan curated the 2023 Brisbane Writers Festival Word Play program. As a regular literary judge, workshop presenter and creator of Children's Books Daily and the Your Kid's Next Read podcast, she continues to help shape the world of children's literature.