Tony De Saulles
About Author
Tony De Saulles is an award-winning children's author and illustrator. He is the illustrator of the bestselling Horrible Science series, which has won many awards including The Blue Peter Prize For Best Book With Facts.
The first title in Tony's new fiction series, Bee Boy, is out in 2018.
Tony lives in West Sussex and is learning to be a bee-keeper.
Interview
BEE BOY: CLASH OF THE KILLER QUEENS
OUP CHILDREN'S BOOKS
FEBRUARY 2018
Tony De Saulles, whose work includes illustrating the Horrible Science series, is writing a new series for younger readers, BEE BOY (ages 7+), which explores friendship and doing the right thing - as well as giving young readers an enticing and informative look at the world of bees.
In this beautifully-packaged, illustrated story, Melvin has to stand up to bullies and misinformation to keep his bee hive at the top of the tower block where he lives. As he learns to do so, he is taken on an amazing journey into the very real threats faced by the bees he's responsible for. Through his adventures and passion for nature, the young reader learns much about the world of bees.
We asked Tony De Saulles to tell us more about his work as a writer and illustrator and his new book, BEE BOY - CLASH OF THE KILLER QUEENS:
Q: How many books have you written and illustrated, and do you have a favourite?
A: I've been illustrating the Horrible Science series for 22 years so, along with Bee Boy and other books, I guess the total must be around 50.
My favourite Horrible Science book is Nasty Nature - I love writing animal-based jokes. Of course my favourite book of all is Bee Boy - Clash of the Killer Queens. But then, if you ask any writer what their favourite book is, it's usually the most recent one!
Q: What do you enjoy most about writing for younger readers?
A: I love the idea that a child might become wrapped up in a story that's come from my imagination and that they laugh at my jokes too!
Q: What was the inspiration for this book?
A: I was busy thinking up ideas for books when it occurred to me that a boy who could turn into a bee would be able to fly through open windows, explore other people's houses, hide in cars, listen to secret conversations and, when needed, command his bees to swarm and attack. All the ingredients for an amazing adventure!
Q: Melvin - or Bee Boy - is fascinated by bees. When did you become interested in bees? Do you keep a hive?
A: My Dad was a nature-lover and so is my Mum. You could say, they taught me about the birds and the bees - especially bees! They used to have a beehive and that's how I became interested.
I'm learning to be a bee-keeper at the moment and help my neighbour with his bees which is a great way to learn. I'm planning to get my own beehive in the spring.
Q: And how much research into bees did you do for this book? Any surprises along the way?
A: I've read lots of bee books, watched many documentaries and researched on the internet. Helping my friend with his bees has also been a great help. One surprise was discovering that bees use pheromones - a sort of chemical message - to communicate.
Last year, I borrowed a bee-keeper's suit that was too short in the leg and I was stung through my sock. In seconds, the pheromone emitted by my attacker had instructed hundreds of her sisters (all worker bees are female) to land on my ankles and sting me through my socks. It was very painful but I couldn't help admiring the little blighters - SO clever!
Q: Melvin introduces lots of bee facts through the story; Why did you want this story to have that learning element?
A: I think it's important for children to understand some of the problems that planet Earth is facing. Children are the future and if I can gently encourage them to develop a love and respect for the natural world, it might encourage them to do something positive when they're older.
The BBC's Blue Planet has highlighted some of Earth's environmental issues so if my books also help spread the word (if only in a teeny weeny way), it will have been worthwhile.
Q: Why do you put Melvin's bee hive on the top of a tower block? Are children surprised that bees thrive in cities?
A: Putting Melvin's beehive on the top of a tower block was a way of creating conflict. I was able to describe the resident's fears and offer answers that portray bees in a positive light.
The truth is that honeybees do very well in cities. They're able to feed from a tremendous variety of plants that grow far away from chemIcal-saturated farmland. I will be visiting many schools when Bee Boy is published so I've yet to discover exactly how surprised children are to hear this information.
Q: There's also an important environmental message about bees in the story - are we doing enough to help save our bees? Where would you recommend children go to find out more about it?
A: Rather late in the day, the government is banning some pesticides. Neonicotinoids, a particularly worrying group of insecticides are proven to be harmful, causing bees to become confused and unable to find their way back to the hive or nest. Death results from exhaustion or starvation. Insecticides also pollute rivers and if insects disappear so will the birds and fish that feed on them.
I think it's a good idea for children to first learn about the life of wild bees, domesticated honeybees and other valuable pollinating insects before investigating the problems they face. Children can be encouraged to grow bee-friendly flowers and to make bee homes for solitary bees out of bamboo canes (instructions at the back of my second Bee Boy book published summer 2018).
There are fascinating Youtube videos about the life of bees and the problems they're facing - you'll find a few on the Videos & Songs page of my website.
Q: Melvin has a very embarrassing incident in an assembly during the story - what was your worst memory of school?
A: I have so many! I went to an academic school and I am not an academic person. My main memory of school is that I was incredibly bored most of the time (sadly, it wasn't a very good school). It wasn't until I went to art college that I discovered the pleasure in working really, REALLY hard at something that I totally loved!
Q: You also tackle bullying in the story, why did you want to introduce this to the story?
A: You need conflict in a story to make it interesting. The bullying that Melvin suffers stems from the ignorance of others. His schoolmates aren't interested in bees and, like many people in the real world, his neighbours are unaware of how important bees are.
I wanted the reader to be won over by Mel's loyalty to his bees and back him as he tries to persuade everybody that, to quote his school project, BEES ARE BRILLIANT!
Q: Why did you decide to illustrate this story? Are bees and 'bee boys' hard to draw?
A: Because I've been an illustrator for so long I tend to think in words and pictures - I can't imagine inventing a new character and not drawing them. After a bit of practise, I haven't found bees or Bee Boy particularly difficult to draw.
I was excited to discover that bees look great when you draw them standing on their back legs - especially when they're doing the waggledance! 'Standing bees' offered a whole new dimension to scenes inside the hive. Sometimes you have to use a bit of artistic licence to create interesting illustrations.
Q: Do you doodle as you write or do the illustrations first? What's your favourite image?
A: If I'm writing about a new character, I doodle them to make sure I'm happy with how they look. For example, I might describe somebody in the text as having a big, bushy beard so the best way to make sure I'm going to be happy illustrating this person is to do a few doodles. It's a great way of testing them out - especially if they appear lots of times throughout the book.
I wanted the reader to have a clear idea of Meadow Tower, St John's Primary and where Mel keeps his beehive so I spent several days drawing a bird's-eye view of the scene. I think this is the illustration I'm most proud of but my favourite is the double page spread showing the Death's Head Hawkmoth exploding!
Q: What are you planning for your school events for this book?
A: I had a test run of my Bee Boy event at a local primary school this week and it was a great success -well, I enjoyed myself! I show a slideshow that illustrates the life of bees and the problems they face. Following on from that, we take a look at Bee Boy - Clash of the Killer Queens and I read a few selections projecting illustrations to accompany the text. We also sharpen our pencils and have a go at drawing bees and Bee Boy.
Questions and answers are fun - I was surprised to discover that about 15 of the 80 children in my audience, knew a bee-keeper. I finish my event with the Bee Boy song which I play on the guitar. You can listen to this on the Songs and Video page of my website.
Bee Boy: Clash of the Killer Queens
