The Nectar Collector

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books — Recommended

Alenya is a honeybee with opinions. Strong ones. She pushes past guards, ignores rules when the nectar is worth it, and dances her discoveries with a ferocity that makes other foragers stop and stare. She is, in every way that matters, the best bee in the hive.

Then the wildfire comes.

Forced from their home and scattered across an unfamiliar mountain, Alenya and her colony face predators, a bear attack, and the loss of everything familiar. With her loyal friend Klymer injured and the hive's future uncertain, Alenya must find something harder than the best flowers—a reason to keep going when the world has changed beyond recognition.

The Nectar Collector is a high-stakes animal adventure rich in natural science, told with warmth, humor, and a protagonist who earns every bit of your loyalty. For readers ages 8–12 who love animal characters that feel completely, vividly real.

"Sherlock's storytelling pulls us into a wealth of fascinating information about bees while entertaining us with a gripping tale of loveable characters, with and without wings."
—Tina Welling, author of Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature

"A thoughtful, character-driven animal adventure and a memorable, rewarding read. Highly recommended."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The Nectar Collector has everything a kid looks for in a story—fascinating characters, a dynamite plot, and enough insight into the lives of bees to satisfy any budding apiologist."
—Tim Sandlin, founder and executive director of The Jackson Writers' Conference

For fans of Charlotte's Web and The One and Only Ivan.