Customer Reviews

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

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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

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!

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.

This book is a very clever commentary that works on many conceptional levels. At the most basic level, it is an inspirational book for kids +/-9-10 years old. These kids will realize that one can follow ones own path, and that hard work provides its own return. For teenagers, the book is inspirational during those confused times when one is not sure about social acceptance. For adults, the book points to rewards of stepping out of mainstream material paths, etc. The book reminds me a bit like Jonathan Livinston Seagull, a little bit like Candide, a bit like Frost's The Road Not Taken, and a little bit like the Acuna Mitata theme from Lion King. Things seem to work out if you do what is in your heart. All in all, I highly recommend this book. It is a good read, and it's very good to stimulate family discussions.

If we learn best by stories, this book "Too Bee or Not to Bee, is filled with great reminders and many learnings. As I struggle with the difficult and fragile place of our planet, I am grateful for the comfort of this book. This book reminds me that life is complex and horrible and wonderful and terrible.
At the most basic level this is the story of Buzz, a worker bee who does what bees do, he does his part to collect honey for his hive. Along the way he looks for pollen and God. Many of his emotions are evoked. He feels anger, he witnesses the dying of many of his fellow bees and he finds contentment. And, that is the power of this book. Buzz's life is ours. So, how do we find contentment? We realize that we can choose to see the beauty in the daily acts of living. We realize that we are a part of a complex and interdependent hive.
Share this book with a teenager who is just coming to grips with the big issues of life, someone whose life is in struggle or as I will do, with members of my book club. Savor this book with an appreciative heart and a warm cup of tea.
This book is well written and the illustrations make the lessons of the book come alive.

To Bee or Not To Bee is a delightful book packed with emotion and a beautiful message that benefits all of us. Truly inspired, the book's message is so simple yet so wise. This book will warm your heart and make your spirit soar, renewing your faith in the real beauty of life. We recommend it for all who seek the truth or just need to feel good.
Janet & Jack Faubion

I stumbled upon this book at the bookstore while trying to find some books for spirtiual growth. This book hit the spot and I couldn't put it down! I recommend this to anyone who is confused about religion or spirituality as well as those people just feeling like they don't quite fit in. Very great Book! :)

I was initially hesitant because I thought it was going to be cartoon-like, but then the depth of it drew me in and simply amazed me.

Ernie Carwile
Author and Creator of
THE MAXWELL WINSTON STONE SERIES

Well written, deep, but skillfully presented. Buzz's adventures, discoveries and insights are an inspiration to all of us. Highly recommended.

What a great little story. I finished this short book in a few hours, and I'm so glad I came across it in the first place. It's the story of a Buzz Bee, and it begins with his lack of contentment with everything - life, work, relationships with his fellow bees, etc. He knows there is something "more." One day he happens upon Bert, a bee who is practicing being still (meditating) by a stream. Bert takes Buzz under his wing (another cute pun!) and teaches him the ways of enlightenment. These ways are very often frustrating and painful for Buzz. Eventually, though, he finds his way.

I really needed this story at this time in my life, because I feel that I fell deeply into what the author describes as the "Divine Detour." I became obsessed, like Buzz, with God, and thinking that God WANTED me to be obsessed with Him! (Right??) This story helped clear that up a bit.

It's full of wonderful inspiration and absolutely true quotes, such as "The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."

I will keep coming back to this book. It's short enough to read again, and I definitely will do so. Highly recommended, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey.