"How do you plan for the future when your own parents
don't believe you have one?"
Wolf works on a school project. His project is about the importance of bees and the way our agricultural and land clearing practices mean bees are in danger. Bees are vital for pollination. Pollination is vital for our food crops.
"We destroyed animal habitats. Overfished the oceans. Cleared forests to plant crops. Turned grasslands to deserts."
"You know what we wouldn't have, without bees to pollinate the plants? ... Apples. Pears. Cherries. Blueberries. Apricots. Nectarines. Raspberries. Peaches. Watermelon. Cucumber."
Wolf knows bees are important but it is his mum who has taken these ideas to another level. She has decided it is vital to spread the message. To tell anyone and everyone about the importance of bees and the dangers they face. She decides to take her family across Canada in a small van (powered by used cooking oil) stopping along the way in public places and presenting a show. She has co-opted her son Wolf, twins Saffron and Whisper aged 5, her partner Curtis and his daughter Violet. Violet is fifteen and she has no interest in all of this. She does not want to leave her high school and most especially she does not want to leave her new boyfriend Ty. The twins are expected to dress up as bees and distribute flyers while Jade (mum) performs with juggling balls as a way to explain the imminent danger our world now faces.
Saffron does not mind the dressing up but little Whisper (her real name is Juniper) has stopped talking, she is hardly eating and she seems very withdrawn. Wolf is so worried about Whisper. He does not want to dress up as a bee. He knows the messages are important but it feels as though all his mum cares about is the bees and not her family which seems to be disintegrating.
"Because that's how you act. Ignoring what we want, dragging us off on this trip, acting like it isn't making everything worse."
This is a strong story about the importance of family; sibling relationships; and the, often urgent, need for truthful communication. Robin Stevenson is a Canadian children's author. Take a look at this Kirkus review.
Companion reads on the topic of the importance of bees:
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