Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads

Elementary Education


Guides
Collections
News
(0)
Wish List (0)
Wish List
Download high-resolution image Look inside

The Bees of Notre-Dame

Author Meghan P. Browne
Illustrated by E. B. Goodale
Look inside
Hardcover
$18.99 US
RH Childrens Books | Random House Studio
8.75"W x 11.5"H x 0.4"D  
On sale Oct 17, 2023 | 40 Pages | 978-0-593-37456-6
| Preschool - 3
Reading Level: Lexile AD920L | Fountas & Pinnell R
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies
See Additional Formats
This lyrical, poignant nonfiction picture book tells the fascinating story of the honeybee colonies that lived on the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and survived the devastating 2019 fire.

High above the bustling streets and gardens of Paris is a little-known wonder: a cluster of beehives. They sit atop the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral, lovingly tended to by a beekeeper named Sibyle. But when fire broke out in the catherdral in 2019, the bees almost didn’t make it. Firefighters battled heat and smoke, carefully spraying their hoses around the hives, pumping in water from fireboats on the Seine, and, miraculously, they survived.

Meghan P. Browne and E. B. Goodale imbue the story of Notre-Dame’s bees and the fire that almost killed them with great hope. After the fire, there is rebuilding to be done, but with hard work and collaboration, perhaps the cathedral can be restored after all. From the rooftops of Paris to the intricacies of a beehive, here is a moving picture book about resilience in the face of disaster.
Meghan P. Browne received her MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her debut picture book, Indelible Ann, was named the 2022 Texas Great Read and received a starred review from Kirkus. She is also the author of Dorothy the Brave. Meghan lives on and runs a farm in South Austin, Texas, called the Honey Browne Farm, where she raises bees. View titles by Meghan P. Browne
E. B. Goodale is an author and illustrator who comes from a background of printmaking and letterpress printing. She made her foray into picture books with Windows by Julia Denos, which received an Ezra Jack Keats honor for illustration and was an ALA-ALSC Notable book for 2018. She has illustrated a handful of other books for children and is the author of Under the Lilacs and Also. View titles by E. B. Goodale
  • NOMINEE | 2025
    Georgia Children's Book Award
  • RECOMMENDED | 2024
    NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
★ "A focus on bees is an unexpectedly engaging angle to this account of the 2019 fire atop the Notre-Dame de Paris." —Booklist, starred review

"Emphasizing resilience, this tale effectively captures a fascinating episode in recent history." —Kirkus Reviews

"Browne's lyrical picture book tells the story of the bees who call Notre-Dame home and the fire that threatened their hives." —The Horn Book

"Graceful prose by Browne pays homage to Paris’s venerable Notre-Dame cathedral, and to the bees that lived atop it before its 2019 fire." —Publishers Weekly
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

About

This lyrical, poignant nonfiction picture book tells the fascinating story of the honeybee colonies that lived on the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and survived the devastating 2019 fire.

High above the bustling streets and gardens of Paris is a little-known wonder: a cluster of beehives. They sit atop the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral, lovingly tended to by a beekeeper named Sibyle. But when fire broke out in the catherdral in 2019, the bees almost didn’t make it. Firefighters battled heat and smoke, carefully spraying their hoses around the hives, pumping in water from fireboats on the Seine, and, miraculously, they survived.

Meghan P. Browne and E. B. Goodale imbue the story of Notre-Dame’s bees and the fire that almost killed them with great hope. After the fire, there is rebuilding to be done, but with hard work and collaboration, perhaps the cathedral can be restored after all. From the rooftops of Paris to the intricacies of a beehive, here is a moving picture book about resilience in the face of disaster.

Author

Meghan P. Browne received her MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her debut picture book, Indelible Ann, was named the 2022 Texas Great Read and received a starred review from Kirkus. She is also the author of Dorothy the Brave. Meghan lives on and runs a farm in South Austin, Texas, called the Honey Browne Farm, where she raises bees. View titles by Meghan P. Browne
E. B. Goodale is an author and illustrator who comes from a background of printmaking and letterpress printing. She made her foray into picture books with Windows by Julia Denos, which received an Ezra Jack Keats honor for illustration and was an ALA-ALSC Notable book for 2018. She has illustrated a handful of other books for children and is the author of Under the Lilacs and Also. View titles by E. B. Goodale

Awards

  • NOMINEE | 2025
    Georgia Children's Book Award
  • RECOMMENDED | 2024
    NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children

Praise

★ "A focus on bees is an unexpectedly engaging angle to this account of the 2019 fire atop the Notre-Dame de Paris." —Booklist, starred review

"Emphasizing resilience, this tale effectively captures a fascinating episode in recent history." —Kirkus Reviews

"Browne's lyrical picture book tells the story of the bees who call Notre-Dame home and the fire that threatened their hives." —The Horn Book

"Graceful prose by Browne pays homage to Paris’s venerable Notre-Dame cathedral, and to the bees that lived atop it before its 2019 fire." —Publishers Weekly

Photos

additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

Additional formats

Other Books by this Author

Related Articles
education translanguaging collections affirming bilingual and multilingual learners
General Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series The Arts

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

General Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series The Arts
education classroom libraries the heart and soul of any curriculum
General Early Concepts English Language Arts Science & Technology The Arts

PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

Read more

PRH Education Classroom Libraries

General Early Concepts English Language Arts Science & Technology The Arts

About Elementary Education

Penguin Random House Education

Penguin Random House

About Elementary Education

Penguin Random House Education

Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Elementary Education
    Wish List (0)