To Bee or Not to Bee: A Book for Beeings Who Feel There's More to Life Than Just Making Honey [Hardcover]

John Penberthy (Author), Laurie Barrows (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2007

Imagine the stifling existence of a worker bee caught in the mindless tedium of life: every day, he helps build the hive, forages, feeds the larvae, stores honey and pollen, and falls into an exhausted sleep. Then the next day...he does it all again. But what happens if that bee has a little curiosity and a lot of spiritual yearning? You get the basis for this clever, inspirational allegory about living life to its fullest. Illustrated by award-winning artist Laurie Barrows, "To Bee or Not to Bee" is the story of Buzz Bee's search for God. Peppered with aphorisms and laced with wit and humour, this charming tale reminds us that life is too important to be taken so seriously.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Penberthy was born with an insatiable curiosity which has made him an ardent student of Life and Spirit. His first conscious memory is that of beeing stung by a bee at age one. He grew up in south Florida, earned an MBA and spent a decade doing market and economic research consulting throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Following a period of intensive spiritual exploration, John coordinated a vitamin A fortification (blindness prevention) project for Helen Keller International in Indonesia and later managed the Cache River Bioreserve for The Nature Conservancy. His striving to see the Divine in all things led him to write To Bee or Not to Bee, which came to him in a meditation. John lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and daughter.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; First Printing edition (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402747659
• ISBN-13: 978-1402747656
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,284,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Penberthy was born with an insatiable curiosity which has made him an ardent student of Life and Spirit. His first conscious memory is that of beeing stung by a bee at age one. He grew up in south Florida, earned an MBA and spent a decade doing market and economic research consulting throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Following a period of intensive spiritual exploration, John coordinated a vitamin A fortification (blindness prevention) project for Helen Keller International in Indonesia and later managed the Cache River Bioreserve for The Nature Conservancy. His striving to see the Divine in all things led him to write To Bee or Not to Bee, which came to him in a meditation. John lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and daughter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's More to Life Than Just Making Honey, March 5, 2008

By 

Viviane Crystal (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: To Bee or Not to Bee: A Book for Beeings Who Feel There's More to Life Than Just Making Honey (Hardcover)

Buzz Bee is having a great day! That is, he's having a great day until he starts thinking! Why do we have to do the same old work the same old way? Is there a better way? Why do we all have to be the same? Are we really better than those small ants and how do you know they're not as good as we are? Why does anyone have to be "better?" On and on, Buzz's questions go and others are beginning to see him as not only different but just plain weird?

What is Buzz to do or not do? Just as he seems at the very lowest point of despair, he meets an older bee, Bert. Their conversations and ruminations about love, work, death, God, religion, sameness, difference and just "being" pepper these 140 pages with a fascinating dialogue that's bound to touch every reader's mind, heart and spirit!

For Buzz is about to really enter a spiritual journey that he could never have imagined before meeting Bert. Attracted to and repelled by what he hears, he can neither conform to or ignore what he hears from this older bee who is his greatest friend.

He must go on his own journey to find out the truth or whatever else just "is!"

Sound familiar? This is a simple yet profound story effectively told and accompanied by lovely drawings that parallel the story to deeply affect the reader. To Bee or Not to Bee is a quick, lovely, powerful and unforgettable read!

Highly recommended for readers of all ages!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on March 5, 2008

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Tale of Spiritual Awakening, April 10, 2008

By 

Cynthia Sue Larson "www.realityshifters.com" (San Francisco bay area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: To Bee or Not to Bee: A Book for Beeings Who Feel There's More to Life Than Just Making Honey (Hardcover)

John Penberthy has written a lovely story about the importance of learning to still the mind and access the wisdom we each have deep inside. TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE tells a story from the vantage point of a honeybee named Buzz. Buzz deals with issues of feeling rejection, isolation, and confusion from those who admonish him for "beeing" different. TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE is full of such plays on words, yet this light-hearted approach to what could otherwise be a heavy, serious topic about spirituality is just the right touch for a book whose genuine intent is to remind us who we truly are.

I love the way the wise old mentor bee, Bert, provides Buzz with guidance, wisdom, and support, and the way the various crises facing the honeybee colony set the stage for some far-reaching decisions to be made. I was amazed to see how the various problems facing the bees so closely parallel human concerns and issues, and delighted to see how Buzz recognizes opportunities to come to peace with "beeing" himself regardless what other bees might say or think. A crisis involving the hive occurs when a marauding bear named Boris provides the colony with incentive to go to war... while Buzz contemplates a more peaceful vision of the hive's future.

Discover all you can bee in this charming tale... you will bee amazed!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wake up call..., February 12, 2008

By 

Patricia LeJeune - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Bee or Not to Bee: A Book for Beeings Who Feel There's More to Life Than Just Making Honey (Hardcover)

I loved this book, I read it in one fell swoop! I had both my teenagers read it and bought a few copies and gave them to friends. To Bee or not to Bee was for me a delightful, uplifting, easy read and yet packed full of wisdom. I think we all feel stuck or stifled in our own lives at times and this book helped me realize that there really is only the present, nothing more and nothing less. The essence of the book for me, was to live every day valuing each precious moment, because we really might be hit by a mack truck and be gone, just like that. I was powerfully impacted by this book and hope the message will stay with me for a very long time.