The Bee Mother

The newest addition to the Mothers of Xsan series, The Bee Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson) and Natasha Donovan shows readers the importance of pollinators to ecosystems.

Throughout this narrative nonfiction picture book, readers not only learn about the bumble bee but also wasps and honey bees to gain a more complete picture about precious insects that are often perceived as a nuisance or scary.

If you are familiar with the series, Hetxw’ms Gyetxw stays true to the format he created in the first book of the series so readers will be comforted by the familiar trajectory of the bee’s lifecycle through the cycle of the moons. I appreciated how he compared and contrasted the three different pollinators (bumble bee, honey bee and wasp) throughout the book so that readers are able the distinguish between the species and also learn how they all contribute in different ways to the survival of all of our favourite plants. Once again, any unfamiliar terms are defined right on the page making for a very accessible read, keeping readers on the page instead of flipping back and forth to gain understanding.

What sets these books apart from traditional nonfiction books is the incredible art by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw and Natasha Donovan. Hetxw’ms Gyetxw shares traditional Pacific Northwest imagery throughout all of the spreads while Natasha Donovan fills the pages with beautiful colours and images of the landscapes. I loved how, in this story, the images were created at a bees eye view so the plants and animals were so much larger than they would appear to a human eye, creating the experience for the reader of being the Nox Ap in the story.