Rolla Book Store Carries My Book

Nice book placement at the end of the aisle, easily visible as customers come in. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins

Rolla Book Store Carries My Book

Being a self-published author means one has to also market and sell the books, which means making them available to our local book stores.

Most book stores take time to review the product first, then decide whether it will be consigned to their inventory. Luckily “A Beekeeper’s Diary Self-Guide to Beekeeping” made the cut and the book is now for sale at our local book store Rolla Books and Toys.

It was a fun moment to watch the book store manager find a place for the beekeeping book among the other new books. The book case is deep and angled so the books safely stand and the readers can better see book covers.

And yes, my beekeeping books are considered “large print.” Most beginning beekeepers are over 40 years old and the larger print makes it easier to read.

About this same time, I found the answer to another challenge, how to safely ship the books. After a quick survey of padded materials, I settled on a wonderful padded envelope to ship the books.

Padded envelopes get my books safely to their final destination. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The padding ensures the book is not torn in shipping and the padded envelope color brings attention to the book.

Charlotte

Beekeeping Alphabet Book

Charming book about honey bees for any interested in these fascinating pollinators. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Beekeeping Alphabet Book

Actually the title of this charming new book is “H is for Honey Bee: A Beekeeping Alphabet.” Written under the umbrella of Sleeping Bear Press, which specializes in other alphabet-themed books, this would be a delightful addition to anyone interested in the fascinating world of honey bees.

Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen takes readers through each alphabet letter and explains basic honey bee-related activities. The book is written for US School Grade levels 2-5 at a Grade 3 reading level. Eileen Ryan Ewen’s illustrations are beautiful and accurate to what I know about beekeeping after 11 years with my own honey bees.

Brood, or baby bees, are nicely illustrated from when queen bee lays an egg. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Frankly learning to keep honey bees is a huge learning curve. Even though this is a book for grade school level children, it would also be an excellent introductory book for older children, and adults, on the life of honeybees and beekeepers.

Robbyn has been keeping bees since 2012 and lives in Bath, Michigan.

Eileen has illustrated several children’s books. Some of her work includes Miss Colfax’s Light and Mr. Mcginty’s Monarchs. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Swarms are misunderstood and probably when bees are at their gentlest. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Having just read more than 40 beekeeping books for the research on my own Beekeeper’s Diary, I would have loved to have found this book in a basic beekeeping reference library. It’s a fun read with simple explanations of some difficult terms.

The book is excellent for STEM lessons on environmental issues, conservation, bees, beekeeping - and I know a few nature lovers who would love this book, too.

Sleeping Bear Press has other alphabet-themed books. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

“H is for Honey Bee: A Beekeeping Alphabet” is a 9.5 inches by 11.5 inches by .5 inch hardback book. The information for each alphabet letter is in short rhyming verses accompanied by side bars with more in-depth information.

You will find the book on Amazon and at Cherry Lake Publishing Group.

To give this as a gift, I would be tempted to add a buzzing bee toy!

Charlotte

Queen Begonia Coloring Page

Fun to see Queen Begonia in full color by a 10-year old! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Queen Begonia Coloring Page

How cute is this colored-in page?

The daughter of one of our local bee club members wasn’t feeling well so I sent her the two coloring pages included in the back of my book “Bee Club Basics or How to Start a Bee Club.” The book includes 28 pages in the back that can be copied and used to establish a bee club including the coloring pages for young club visitors.

The beekeeping book illustrations are by a very talented local artist Jake Tupper, here is his final version of the same book cover.

Here’s the original Bee Club Basics book cover. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I’ve been asked how realistic is this illustration. Actually, very. Honey bees love coffee, will chew paper inside their hives to easily remove it - they are fastidious house keepers and the clover flowers are good for honeybees.

The flowers on Bee Club Basics book cover is Red Crimson Clover Trifolium incarnatum, the one red clover honeybees can access because of the shape of the flowers. Not to be confused with “Red Clover,” which is pink and has a round flower head bumblebees can access but not honey bees.

So here’s the same coloring page for your beekeeping fans feeling cooped up.

Enjoy coloring this page and don’t forget to share the final work of art! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once completed, please share, would love to see your works of art!

Charlotte

Bee Club Basics Book

The first in a series of books to help beekeepers. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Bee Club Basics Book

Ten years ago, Missouri had a total of 6 bee clubs, volunteers in major metropolitan areas helping primarily sideliner and commercial beekeepers. It was also about the time most bee hives in the US died, the result of what we now know was a combination of pesticides, pests and pathogens, poor nutrition and poor management.

Fast forward to 2015, when our state beekeeping association was holding discussions about the needs of Missouri beekeepers. The number of new bee clubs had just started to expand, including the one I started in Rolla but there weren’t resources to help those clubs.

Now there are.

I wrote “Bee Club Basics” for those who are starting, and want to start, an educational non-profit bee club. There are more than 50 now in Missouri, some struggling more than others for help with monthly discussion topics, speakers and the basics, such as how to make their meetings welcoming.

I have started over a dozen educational non-profits since 1979 and have a master’s degree in management. There are a lot of management books on the market; this is not a typical one. I facilitated the club planning process by having forms and check lists to guide the club managing group. Include suggestions for beginning beekeeping as well as experienced beekeeping discussion topics and even included coloring pages for the kids who may make club meetings.

The paperback book is available through Amazon to cut down on duplication and shipping costs. It will also make it easier for me to update the book.

In addition to helpful check lists, the book and the 2-hour lecture “Tips on Running a Bee Club” qualify for Journeyman Level credit in the Great Plains Master Beekeeping program through the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. That means the information shared is state of the art best management practices and qualifies for 2.25 how to be a mentor and 2.26 how to be an effective communicator.

On a personal note, this is my first book in print, a goal I have had for a number of years. There are two more books in the works for this set, all designed to address current beekeeping issues.

I hope this books helps us all continue to share information, experiences and fun in a club meeting setting.

One of our secrets to being welcoming, a cup of coffee! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

At the October 1`9, 2019 Missouri State Beekeepers Association fall conference where I had the first “Tips on Running a Bee Club” session, one of the questions was how to “get people to come back.”

First, provide good, relevant content. Discuss what beekeepers should be doing now and what may be coming up in the next couple of months.

Secondly, have people who welcome attendees to the meeting. We have greeters who are responsible for signing people up for the email list and for showing them the coffee pot.

Ah, yes, the coffee pot, the symbol of hospitality. We have a “social hour” from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. prior to the meeting, where people can stop by and discuss their particular issues one on one if they don’t want to discuss them in open session. Several people have noted that time period at our local bee club meetings sound like “a party.”

And that may be the biggest secret, making it an enjoyable time for everyone involved!

Charlotte