Welcome to BOOK OF THE DAY
Today we are pleased to feature Frances Gilbert’s delightful children’s book, The Man With a Pocketful of Bees
THE MAN WITH A POCKETFUL OF BEES
by
Frances Gilbert
What is the book about?
This is the tale of Old Sam, Gentleman of the Road, and his solitary countryside wanderings with his friends the bees. It is a magical summer, but when winter approaches the bees need warmth, a winter home. Old Sam is reluctant to go down into the village, “Down where folks be, oh dearie me, no, folks and me don’t get along.”
But the bees are suffering and getting weaker, so Old Sam makes an effort and goes down to the village to find a shelter for his beloved bees. Nobody wants them, “No bees here” and Old Sam is desolate as he makes his way out of the village to the spinney. Fortunately Lady Meg, cat lady and gypsy comes rattling by in her wagon, back from her summer travels. She understands the problem, she was never welcome either with all her cuddlesome cats. Old Sam and Lady Meg join forces and live many years in harmony, Old Sam and his Queen, the cats and the bees.
How does the book start?
“Old Sam, Gentleman of the Road,
was summer wandering on the hills
when the bees set up home in a pocket of his trousers.”
Meet the characters
The bees are definitely characters in the story. They take care of Old Sam, but they have their needs too, and it is their plight that drives Old Sam, when winter comes, to go to the village. Old Sam and Lady Meg, the traditional ‘big house’ folk: the butler, the head gardener and the groom, and a variety of villagers are richly illustrated in Rhett Pennell’s expressive art work.
Quotes
As a traditional Gentleman of the Road, Old Sam speaks in lyrical prose.Here is what he says when Lady Meg meets him in the spinney and asks him what he can do.
“I can cook and I can sweep,
keep a place clean and neat,
make a home, keep a hearth,
I can love and I can laugh.”
Where does the story take place?
the story takes place in the land of the imagination, and the realm of traditional stories.
About the Author
Frances Gilbert is a British born author now living in the US.She was a special education teacher for many years.
Frances believes in read-aloud and the power of language.
She says ‘Rhythm binds language, language binds emotion and emotion binds meaning.’
The Man with a Pocketful of Bees is her ninth children’s book, and second illustrated by Rhett Pennell.
A Man With a Pocketful of Bees is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
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