Sting – first bee novel
Finalist in NZ Post Children’s Book Awards
Finalist in Sir Julius Vogel Awards
‘Wonderfully imaginative story’ – Magpies
‘Adventure with a sense of humour.’– North and South
Sting is a children’s novel about Ziggy the honey bee. He’s rejected by his hive, kidnapped by the human military, befriends bumblebees, fights Killer Bees, and discovers the truth about himself. For readers 7 to 12.
Buy Sting: NZ (Free Shipping!) and International here.
- Blends animal fantasy, sci-fi, and bee biology.
- Environmental and anti-war themes.
Sting is published by Walker Books. For great classroom ideas/teaching notes, download pdf.
Interview
Why did you write Sting? When I was a child, I was terrified by a swarm of bees but then a few years ago someone gave me a strange birthday present: a beehive full of bees, and I was hooked. I wanted to write the kind of book I loved as a kid — mixing thrills, humour and a small hero (the Hobbit was the first novel I read).
Where did you get the plot ideas? I read about army scientists training bees for war zones — that made me angry. Then I saw beehives in an isolated valley (photo ) and imagined Ziggy living there. 
When the mysterious disappearance of bees hit the news, it motivated me further. I didn’t want it to be a cartoonish fantasy so I made their behaviour realistic – eg. the way Ziggy navigates.
Where did you learn about bees? From beekeepers and scientists who study the secret life of bees. I read fantastic books like Sweetness and Light by Hattie Ellis. Her quote at the start of Sting sums up the book – every tiny creature is vital – everything is connected.
Sting and The Prisoner: The bees always say “Bee seeing you” – it’s from a TV show called The Prisoner about a man trapped in a village. He was called Number 6 and always shouted “I am not a number I am a free man!” I imagined Ziggy felt like The Prisoner in his hive.
A new Ziggy adventure, Wings, is out now; and my picture book Flight of the Honey Bee is to be published soon.
Find out about bees by clicking here.
Review snippets:
‘With wit in dialogue and sympathy for the classic outsider, Huber makes Ziggy delightfully credible. – Diane Hebley, NZ Books
‘There’s every bee joke you could ever imagine.’- John McIntyre, National Radio
‘Appealing to that often neglected group of readers – boys – Vanda Symon
‘… Through the plot is woven a subtle lesson about the biology of bees… any child who likes to watch insects will absolutely love this book.’ -Sandy Fussell, Reading Stack
‘The fast paced action makes the story fun to read aloud…– Read Plus
‘Wonderfully quirky’- Book Award Judges
Children’s Comments:
‘When Sting ended I thought I might dream about it every night after that!’
‘I am up to the part when Ziggy is riding on the explosion … it is so good that it is hard to stop reading.’
‘Your book is very interesting (I don’t mean weird). I couldn’t put it down.’
