The Island of the Bees

Name: The Island of the Bees
Brand: Penguin Random House NZ
SKU: 9780241380918
Price: 24.0 NZD
Availability: InStock

By Patricia Forde

0.0 (0 reviews)

Brief Description

An epic adventure inspired by Irish myth, full of volcanoes, dragons, wild storms and a quest to find a new home. This story celebrates the magic of bees and the wonder of the natural world. An epic tale of volcanoes, dragons and wild storms, with themes... Read More

Format: Paperback / softback

$24⁰⁰

AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

The Island of the Bees

$24⁰⁰

BOARD GAMES 3 Nov 2026

Magical Athlete - The Board Game for Non-Board Gamers!

Is the board game Magical Athlete the 'Board Game of the Year' for non-board gamers?

BIOGRAPHY 3 Nov 2026

Books for the Person Who Dreams Big

I've always been a dreamer. I've always been drawn to people who take an idea,...

AUTHOR SIGNING 3 Nov 2026

Liv Sisson visits Book Hero

We were so lucky to have geologist and author Liv Sisson visit us at Book...

AUTHOR SIGNING 2 Nov 2026

Suzanne Paul visits Book Hero

We were so excited to have THE iconic Suzanne Paul visit Book Hero last week...

FICTION 2 Nov 2026

What Keeps Us Coming Back to Historical Fiction?

Have you ever finished a historical novel and immediately looked up the real events behind...

Description

An epic adventure inspired by Irish myth, full of volcanoes, dragons, wild storms and a quest to find a new home. This story celebrates the magic of bees and the wonder of the natural world.

An epic tale of volcanoes, dragons and wild storms, with themes drawn from Irish legend. Written by the current Irish Children's Laureate, this is a celebration of the magic of bees and the power we can all draw from the natural world.

Nestled on a peaceful island, Orla and her grandmother live tending their beloved bees. But bubbling below is a monster waiting to surface - a dormant volcano - and when it wakes, Orla and the rest of the island must flee in search of safety. Orla adventures across the wild sea, guided by her buzzing friends, to find a new home. But what will they find over the horizon?

The Island of the Bees has been described as having a wonderful legendary feel, with a sparky central character, and an ecological message that resonates strongly with the contemporary moment, according to The Irish Times.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241380918

Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 14 May 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Puffin

Contributors:

Illustrated by Paddy Donnelly
Illustrated by Paddy Donnelly

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 5.0mm

Width: 232.0mm

Height: 302.0mm

Weight: 186g

Pages: 32

Collections

Children's Books Children's Fiction Children's Picture Books Children’s, Teenage and Educational Patricia Forde Penguin Books

About the Author

Patricia Forde (Author) Patricia Forde is an award winning writer from Galway on the west coast of Ireland and was the seventh Laureate na n g, Ireland's children's laureate. She has written more than twenty books for children, in both English and Irish, as well as plays, television programmes and recently a film! Paddy Donnelly (Illustrator) Paddy Donnelly is a bestselling, award winning author illustrator from Ireland who now lives in Belgium. Nominated four times for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration, Paddy has published over 30 picture books, including Fox & Son Tailers, Badger Books and The Vanishing Lake. The Golden Hare was awarded the Children's Book of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2024 and also picked up the picture book award at the 2025 Indie Book Awards. His books are now available in over 25 languages. He wishes that Pluto was still a planet.

Also by Patricia Forde

View all

List

You are the Wordsmith now. Are you ready for the challenge? The city of Ark is the last safe place on Earth. To ensure humans avoid the mistakes of their past and can survive, everyone in Ark must speak List, a language of only 500 words. Everyone, that is, except Letta. As apprentice to the Wordsmith, Letta can read all...

By Patricia Forde

Paperback

$29⁹⁹

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
Letters to a Giant

HUGELY hilarious - Paddy Donnelly A laugh-out loud book about a very unlikely friendship, by the Irish Children's Laureate Sophie can’t wait for her birthday party. But when one of her invitations is accidentally picked up by a GIANT, she finds herself in a bit of a pickle. What if he turns up and eats all the guests? But Harry...

By Patricia Forde

Paperback

Sold Out
Letters to a Monster

The funniest new picture book of the year, from the Irish Children's Laureate Shortlisted for the 2026 Peters Children's Book of the Year Award 'The perfect night-time read' - Daily Mail 'Hilarious and delightful' - Paddy Donnelly 'Funny and ingenious' - Bookseller It’s a dark and stormy night, and Sophie knows that there is a MONSTER hiding under her bed....

By Patricia Forde

Paperback

Sold Out

More from Children's Books

View all

New Release

Gruffalo Granny

The brand new Gruffalo picture book from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The Gruffalo said to his daughter one day, "Your Gruffalo Granny is coming to stay." Return to the deep dark wood with the first new Gruffalo story in over 20 years, and meet Gruffalo Granny as she visits the Gruffalo family. This fresh and exciting new Gruffalo adventure...

By Julia Donaldson

Hardback

$24⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$30⁰⁰~~

(3)

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Sprinkle in Time: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #15)

In the newest saga, our anti-hero, Grandpa, alters the fabric of time and space. Is his evil the necessary soil for Dog Man and friends to grow and bloom? Can we all step up to be the change? It's the saga of the century—Dog Man: A Sprinkle in Time!

By Dav Pilkey

Hardback

$23⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$27⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
Fight or Flight: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (21)

When the going gets tough, what’s a wimpy kid to do? In Fight or Flight, Greg Heffley faces his biggest challenge yet as he becomes a target for the school bully. Luckily for Greg, his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, takes karate, so at least Greg’s got someone in his corner. But an unexpected twist makes Greg realize he’s facing an uphill...

By Jeff Kinney

Paperback

$16⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$21⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Detective Beans Colouring Club

Help Detective Beans solve the case of the missing colours! Join the Colouring Club now! Join the Detective Beans Colouring Club! Inside you'll find 40 removable colouring pages featuring scenes from all over Cat Town. Filled with all the characters you know and love from the Detective Beans graphic novels like Biscuits, Beans' mum, Mr Brickle, Bear, Detective Baby Bird...

By Li Chen

Paperback

$17⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$21⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

The Sixth Faction

Beatrice Prior stands on the brink of a decision every person in her world must make: five factions, five futures, five lives. She has a plan: she's going to make the bravest choice, and leave Abnegation behind to join Dauntless, even though it means leaving her family behind. But when tragedy strikes at her Choosing Ceremony, everything changes—her world, her...

By Veronica Roth

Paperback

$29⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$34⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

The Naturals: Dangerous Impulses Book 5

The Naturals are BACK! No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers the highly anticipated new installment in her beloved Naturals Series. Cassie Hobbes joined the FBI's Naturals program at seventeen because she had an incredible ability to read people. Since then, Cassie, fellow profiler Dean, emotion‐reader Michael, lie‐detector Lia, and statistical genius Sloane have caught serial...

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Paperback

$21⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$24⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

All of Us

A new heart-wrenching, well-researched historical novel for middle-grade readers. 'The weirdest thing,' continues Tove, 'is that I don't feel any different to the rest of you.' 'That's because you're not!' snaps Birgitte. 'You're Danish.' 'So why do the Nazis hate me and not you?' When twelve-year-old Viggo and his friends Finn, Tove, Birgitte and Konrad start writing rude letters to...

By Katrina Nannestad

Hardback

$25⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$29⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

The Star Path

A young whale searches for the whale rider's heir and a teenager takes an epic voyage to Antarctica with a fleet of waka hourua to claim his lost inheritance, in this breathtaking return to the world of global hit The Whale Rider, over thirty years on. From the internationally acclaimed author of The Whale Rider comes a novel about the...

By Witi Ihimaera Smiler

Paperback

$29⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$35⁰⁰~~

(1)

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Wahine

From a majestic mermaid to a clay woman, the creator of glaciers to the mother of gardening, discover powerful wahine and how their stories shaped the world around us. Wahine introduces readers to twelve purakau of brave, bold, and inspiring women of Aotearoa. A beautifully illustrated collection that will delight the whole whanau, from award-winning illustrator Isobel Joy Te Aho-White....

By Isobel Joy Te Aho-White

Hardback

$31⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$39⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Lottie Brooks’s Twelve Disasters of Christmas

From hilarious MEGA bestselling author, Katie Kirby, comes a new story collection from the world of Lottie Brooks! But this time... it's not about Lottie! From hilarious MEGA bestselling author, Katie Kirby, comes a new story collection from the world of Lottie Brooks! And it's CHRISTMAS! In The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks we spent the holiday season with...

By Katie Kirby

Paperback

$17⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$21⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Matihe! Achoo!

What happens when a grumpy tupua has to sneeze? Matihe! Achoo! is a bilingual story about the tupua Mataoho and his connection to the volcanoes of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. It comes with an action song to engage young readers! He pūrākau e pā ana ki a Mataoho me ngā puia o Takamaki Makaurau. He tupua pukukino a Mataoho e noho...

By Qiane Matata-Sipu

Paperback

$18⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$21⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

The Sweet As Looky Book

Can you find all the chocolate fish? Is it possible for kiwi to fly? Can you spot the difference? See Aotearoa New Zealand through the eyes of award-winning artist Donovan Bixley in The Sweet As Looky Book. Use your finest skills to seek out pirates in the Bay of Islands and birds in Rakiura Stewart Island. Get in a car...

By Donovan Bixley

Hardback

$22⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$27⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 160,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.