Elaine Hall

Growing up, I spent much of my time in my local library
devouring as many fairy stories as I could possibly find.
I loved that the heroes always came through, very
often with the help of family or friends.
I have spent much of my working life travelling the
world, but it was always good to come home to the
beautiful county of Northumberland. I have always
been passionate about animal welfare and in my spare
time was involved in fundraising for animal charities.
It is clear that nature is starting to struggle and in my
own garden I noticed that the number of bees that
normally visit my buddleia bush each year is
diminishing. As part of the research for this book, I
became very interested in the plight of our bees and the
pressures on their environment, as well as the
repercussions for us all due to the huge decline in the
insect population.
I was inspired to write a children's book about two bees,
Bud and Leah, who overcome adversity on their
journey with the help of new friends. The other
characters in the story have also been borrowed from
my garden, including Spike the Hedgehog, Robin and
Mr. Mouse, who visit for food and a drink on a regular
basis.
We have a beautiful country and climate, and that
anything we can all do to preserve it, even in a small
way, will secure a better future for generations to come