The Bee Mother

The Bee Mother is a beautifully illustrated picture book that focuses on Nox Ap, a bumblebee queen, and her relatives: the honeybee and the yellow jacket wasp. The bumblebee boasts shiny black eyes, a fluffy, soft body, and gauzy wings. In Métis illustrator Natasha Donovan’s artwork – drenched in colour, texture, and contrast – the illustrations have a photo-realist quality that pops off the page. Author Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson), a member of the Gitxsan Nation, also contributes formline illustrations (e.g., totem-style crests) that are characteristic of northwest art.

The book is seventh in the creative nonfiction series Mothers of Xsan, and is told from the perspective of the Gitxsan. The opening section – “A New Queen” – sets off poetically, “Winter’s chill recedes, and the spring salmon return to the fishing holes.” The queen looks for a new home. In “A Busy Summer,” Nox Ap “begins to lay the eggs that may become the following year’s queens.” The section also describes how, in early fall, smokehouses full of salmon attract wasps. While yellow jackets can annoy people, they eat pests, giving them an important role in nature. The final section, “Winter Is Coming,” explains that “the spirit of Nox Ap lives on through Gitxsan stories and the hope that her young queens will bring in the spring.”

Illustration: Natasha Donovan.

Just as in The Raven Mother and other titles in the series, Hetxw’ms Gyetxw integrates Gitxsan words into the text. For example, to define the Gitxsan word majagalee, he follows it with “flowers” set off by commas – at times a cumbersome format. In addition, footnotes define both scientific terms (e.g., cocoon, pupate) and challenging vocabulary (e.g., integral, resiliency). This approach is further complicated with a surfeit of long, complex sentences.

While the story refers to various Gitxsan Moons, they don’t necessarily follow in order; it’s confusing when in writing about the return of the salmon, April’s moon is referenced before March’s Black Bear’s Walking Moon. Nevertheless, they provide another piece of Gitxsan knowledge to ponder, and an effective way to foster scientific learning, storytelling, and discussion. This is a book to read slowly and savour. Guided by a teacher or elder, middle graders can pore over sumptuous visuals as they build language skills, gain a better understanding of the Gitxsan, and appreciate the value of nature’s gardeners.