Overview

After his older brother is arrested, James is sent away from Chicago to rural Wisconsin to live with a grandmother he barely remembers-a reclusive old lady who keeps bees, studies the marsh, and fills her cabin with skulls, plants, and scientific equipment. With no friends, no phone signal, and no television, James feels like he's been exiled to boredomville. But as James struggles to adjust, he begins to notice things he never paid attention to before: the quiet rhythm of the creek, the fragile balance of life in the marsh, and the steady, purposeful hum of his grandmother's bees. With the help of his new friends Rosa and Hank, and his loyal dog Mephitis, he uncovers who's been burning local beehives-and what's been hurting his family. The Song of the Bees is a heartfelt coming-of-age story about resilience, connection, and finding your place in an unfamiliar world.

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9798993636511

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Reviews

Tim Chapman has penned an intense, coming-of-age page turner in The Song of the Bees. James and his mother flee Chicago to escape vengeful gangbangers, out to get his older, drug-dealing brother, Zach. Hunkered down in seemingly safe, rural Wisconsin with his kookie grandmother, James must learn hard lessons about friends and family, bees and bullies, and teamwork and treachery. Hand this important book to every middle-schooler you know! -Sherrill Joseph, award-winning author of the Middle-Grade series The Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries The Song of the Bees is a heartening story about family and how even the most challenging events can help bring people together. James, the young narrator, is sent to live with his estranged (and strange) grandmother in Wisconsin after his older brother is arrested for selling drugs. Though he misses his home in Chicago, he's able to make new friends, learn about his grandmother's environmentalism, and even help his mother and grandmother reconcile after years of separation. Young readers and adult readers alike will enjoy seeing James grapple with so many big changes in his life happening all at once and appreciate his caring and thoughtful interactions with everyone around him. -Michelle Falkoff, author of How to Pack for the End of the World and Playlist for the Dead Readers will root for James as he makes new friends, discovers a love for the outdoors, and slowly opens his heart to his grandmother's earnest attempts to connect through her nature conservation projects. Poignant and genuine, this touching story of resilience will resonate with any child who has ever felt out of place-or searched for where they truly belong. - Valerie Biel, award-winning author of HAVEN and the Circle of Nine series

Author Information

Tim Chapman is a former forensic scientist for the Chicago Police Department and writing instructor at Malcolm X College. He holds a Master's degree in Creative Writing from Northwestern University. His fiction has been published in The Southeast Review, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and the anthologies, ""The Rich and the Dead"" and ""Tales of the Fantastic."" His short stories have been collected under the title ""Kiddieland and other misfortunes."" He is the author of the Sean McKinney novels ""A Trace of Gold"" and ""The Blue Silence"" and two novels for middle-grade kids: ""The Outcasts"" and ""The Song of the Bees."" When he's not writing he's editing the journal Litbop: Art and Literature in the Groove, teaching martial arts, or painting pretty pictures.

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