Killer queen bees and lethal bugs!

Tony De Saulles's new Bee Boy series launches this month with Clash of the Killer Queens! A story about bullies, friendship - and of course, bees!

If you like the Horrible Science books, you'll already know Tony De Saulles work, as he illustrates those books, and he has written and illustrated Bee Boy. In the first Bee Boy book, Clash of the Killer Queens, Melvin has to stand up to bullies to keep his bee hive at the top of the tower block where he lives. He is also taken on an amazing journey into 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? 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: How much research into bees did you do for this book? 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: Why do you want children to know more about bees? 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? A: 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. Q: Are we doing enough to help save our bees? 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. 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: Why did you introduce bullying 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? 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? 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!