THE HONEY HUNTER, THE BOY, THE BEES AND BONBIBI/Le Tigre de miel

A modern-day South Asian fable, teaching children to respect and appreciate nature, with lavish illustrations and empathetic language.

 

The story of the honey hunter begins in Sundarban, a land of eighteen tides and six seasons, where three rivers meet in a huge mangrove forest. At first, everything is peaceful for the thousands of honeybees that live there, not far from the Bay of Bengal. They fly from flower to flower, collecting nectar, and supplying people and animals with their sweet, liquid gold. Everyone who lives in Sundarban loves honey, especially one little boy… the small dark-haired Shonu.
One year, the seasons in Sundarban get mixed up and the region is plagued by powerful cyclones, followed by a drought and hunger. Shonu is so unbelievably hungry that he sneaks into the mangrove forest and breaks the golden rule… He takes honey from the hives even though it is not harvest time. Shonu doesn’t realise quite how much trouble he could get into with the almighty demon tiger…

A modern fairytale about what can happen when someone interferes with nature’s rhythm. It teaches children to respect and appreciate the environment. Inspired by Muslim and Hindu myths, the author Karthika Naïr and illustrator Joëlle Jolivet create a compelling narrative style and visual language to tell their tale. Set to be a classic.