Books

Popular urban beekeeper Hilary Kearney challenges nature lovers, science fans, and beekeepers alike to "spot the queen" in 48 amazing fold-out photo puzzles, accompanied by stories of the dramatic life of the queen honey bee and stories of swarm-capturing adventures.

At the heart of every bee hive is a queen bee. Since her well-being is linked to the well-being of the entire colony, the ability to find her among the residents of the hive is an essential beekeeping skill. In QueenSpotting, experienced beekeeper and professional "swarm catcher" Hilary Kearney challenges readers to "spot the queen" with 48 fold-out queenspotting puzzles - vivid up-close photos of the queen hidden among her many subjects.

QueenSpotting celebrates the unique, fascinating life of the queen bee chronicles of royal hive happenings such as The Virgin Death Match, The Nuptual Flight - when the queen mates with a cloud of male drones high in the air - and the dramatic Exodus of the Swarm from the hive. Readers will thrill at Kearney's adventures in capturing these swarms from the strange places they settle, including a Jet Ski, a couch, a speed boat, and an owl's nesting box. Fascinating, fun, and instructive, backyard beekeepers and nature lovers alike will find reason to return to the pages again and again.

From crayons to cough drops, cookies to candles, Beehive Alchemy offers a comprehensive introduction to incorporating the miracle of bees into everyday life. Beehive Alchemy is a continuation of Petra Ahnert’s best-selling Beeswax Alchemy.

With this new book, beekeepers (and bee lovers) will learn about the benefits and attributes of beeswax, honey, propolis, and more alongside a full range of projects and techniques to process and harness the amazing gifts of bees. Inside, you’ll find instructions to make Ahnert’s award-winning hand-dipped birthday candles, the classic French dessert canele bordelais, and much more, including: Alchemy for the Body Liquid soap with honey Beard balm Olive and honey lotion Alchemy of Light Taper candles Tea lights Pillars Alchemy for the Home Furniture polish Waxed cotton food wraps Woodcutter incense Alchemy in the Studio Beeswax crayons Encaustic Batik Alchemy in the Kitchen Cookies and candies Beverages Fermentations Whether you keep bees or just love them, Beehive Alchemy will become your go-to comprehensive guide for hive-to-home creations.

Kate Nelson has been disposable-plastic free for a decade. She started small: stopping her use of plastic bags and water bottles, refusing straws and carrying a reusable cup for takeaway coffee. But unhappy with how much plastic she still handled in her day-to-day life, she knew she had to do more. It took years, but Kate has developed effective strategies that others can easily adopt. This inspiring and practical guide to reducing your use of plastic is packed with information, how-to’s and tips to help you cook, clean, shop, wear, and live plastic-free.

Kate shows how to reduce your waste and live more simply and sustainably, no matter where you’re starting from. With over 60 recipes—covering nutrition, bodycare, hygiene and cleaning—Kate Nelson provides the tools you need to make small personal changes that have lasting global impact. Includes dual measures.

Backyard Bees is the ultimate guide to installing and maintaining a hive of European honey bees. It includes extensive advice on choosing a hive and the equipment you need; case studies and anecdotes from beekeepers from all walks of life; as well as 20 delicious recipes for all that honey, from toasted honey granola to Bees Knees cocktails All you need is a bit of space in your backyard or on your rooftop, and a little love for the creatures that pollinate the veggie patches of your neighborhood. Once introduced to the charms of beekeeping and the taste of warm honeycomb direct from the hive, you’ll be hooked! Includes dual measures.

This influential guide by the Reverend L. L. Langstroth, ""the father of modern beekeeping,"" revolutionized the practice of beekeeping. Originally published in 1853, his work constitutes the first descriptive treatise of modern bee management - its innovations allowed people to engage in actual beekeeping, rather than simply handling bee domiciles and extracting the honey.

This book explains and illustrates techniques still employed 150 years later - including the author's patented invention, a movable frame hive that quickly spread into common use around the world.In his reader-friendly, nontechnical style, Langstroth addresses every aspect of beekeeping: bee physiology; diseases and enemies of bees; the life-cycles of the queen, drone, and worker; bee-hives; and the handling of bees. An infectious sense of wonder and enthusiasm suffuses Langstroth's accounts of natural and artificial swarming, the production of honey and wax, and the best methods of feeding bees and maintaining an apiary.

The manual abounds in practical and intriguing insights attained through the years of observation and experience, including ""the kindness of bees to one another,"" ""their infatuation for liquid sweets,"" and ""the warning given by bees before stinging.""This version of Langstroth's ever-popular manual is the fourth and final edition; it incorporates the author's own revisions and remains an unsurpassed resource for beekeepers.

Ever stopped to read the list of ingredients in the products you use every day? In Low Tox Life, activist and educator Alexx Stuart gently clears a path through the maze of mass-market ingredient cocktails, focusing on four key areas: Body, Home, Food and Mind.

Sharing the latest science and advice from experts in each area, Alexx tackles everything from endocrine-disruptors in beauty products to the challenge of going low plastic in a high-plastic world, and how to clean without a hit of harmful toxins.

A reminder of what truly matter, as told through the adventures of four beloved friends. Based on Charlie’s daily Instagram. For fans of Winnie-the-Pooh’s Little Book of Wisdom.

A book of hope for uncertain times.

The conversations between the four characters in this book – the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse – have been shared thousands of times online, recreated in school art classes, turned into tattoos, they inspire parents and grandparents, comfort children, cheer people who feel lonely, are grieving, need courage, or a reminder that they are not alone and to keep going when life is hard.

Enter the world of Charlie Mackesy’s creations, these four unlikely friends, discover their story and their most poignant and universal life lessons. The book includes Charlie’s most loved illustrations and new ones too.

About the Author

Artist Charlie Mackesy was born during a snowy winter in Northumberland. He has been a cartoonist for The Spectator and a book illustrator for Oxford University Press. He has collaborated with Richard Curtis for Comic Relief, and Nelson Mandela on lithograph project, ‘The United States’. His first exhibition for the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse was in London in November 2018. Charlie lives in South London with his two dogs.

All the buzz on keeping backyard bees - an informative and inspirational handbook full of advice, experience and stories from experts and enthusiasts.

With bees worldwide in deadly peril, Australians are keen to lend a helping hand. Keeping a hive or three has become a popular lifestyle trend - and it's more achievable than you might think.

Whether you're in the inner city, suburbs or on acreage, keeping bees can be easy, low-fuss and fun for the whole family to get involved in - imagine bottling your very own honey! This lively guide features inspirational experiences and gorgeous photos from scores of enthusiasts across Australia who have sweetened their lives by keeping bees.

Practical chapters by a range of experts give the low-down on getting started, caring for your bees, harvesting your honey and wax (with recipes), troubleshooting, what to plant to help out your little workers, and great information on the popular option of keeping native stingless bees.

The Contented Bee will inspire you to help out the bees - and enrich your own life, too!

Family food isn’t fancy or complex. Its roots are humble, stemming from recipes passed on through generations, and food rituals born from daily cooking. Most importantly, great family recipes are ones that nurture our souls, our hearts and our tummies. Family food is comfort food.

In Family, bestselling author Hetty McKinnon shares her approach to modern, uncomplicated, hearty and healthy food that is powered by vegetables. These classic recipes are the multicultural meals she serves around her own family table. Some are heirloom recipes passed on from her mother, others are old family favourites, and many are variations on much-loved comfort food, repackaged with a healthier outlook.

This could be a deconstructed falafel salad of crispy roasted chickpeas and fresh greens, drizzled with lemony tahini; an oozy savoury cobbler of summer tomatoes topped with parmesan-cornmeal scones; or an earthy miso brown butter sauce spiked with crispy sage and tossed through your favourite pasta. Finish things off with a simple dessert of sticky banana golden syrup dumplings, an indulgent choc-orange self-saucing pudding, or an addictive lime pie with anzac biscuit crust – sweet treats that are destined to become new family favourites. These irresistible recipes are interlaced with tender family stories from home cooks around the world.

A fabulous gift pack is for the dreamer / the entrepreneur / the change maker or the disillusioned in your life.  This pack contains:

1 x Dream Big by Bob Goff (Hardcover)
1 x 15cm Solid Pillar to light, relax and read the book by

Dream Big author, Bob Goff, is the New York Times bestselling author of Love Does and Everybody, Always. In this grounded and practical book, Bob takes you on a life-proven journey to rediscover your dreams and turn them into reality.  He is on a mission to help people recapture the version of their lives they dreamed about before fear started calling the shots.

Based on his enormously popular Dream Big workshop, Bob shows how to

• learn to define clearly your dreams for yourself,
• identify the obstacles holding you back,
• come up with a specific plan for reaching goals, and
• develop the tools that will help you act on the plan.

Dream Big is the only book you need to uncover the wild and exciting dream for your life you’ve hidden from yourself--and help you take the steps necessary to achieve it.

Read an excerpt of the Bob Goff's Dream Big in Living Magazine here.

These are next-level jigsaw puzzles that take you on a journey through the world of wine. They are beautifully hand-illustrated, educational and sustainable.

First received as a gift for Christmas 2022, our queen bee was so obsessed with how stunning the puzzle was (thick cardboard with a lustrous matt finish and joyful to do) that she looked to buy the entire range.  Finding that there were no stockists in Australia, she decided to stock them to spread the joy of Water & Wines puzzles.

A mindful and foolproof gift!

Carefully curated by a sommelier, these puzzles highlight the country’s key wine-producing regions, main grape varieties, and star appellations. The box also features our grape profiles, describing aromas, characteristics, and food pairing tips! Illustrated by hand, the designs were first hand-drawn, and then attentively reviewed, with the help of some of the top sommeliers in the world.

More than a puzzle, you will learn about wine of course, but also about geography as you start playing your way into the world of wine. 

For every item sold Water & Wine plant one tree and make a donation to improve global access to safe drinking water. We want to make puzzles you can feel good about.

Size: 1000 pieces

Puzzle dimensions: 48 x 68 cm

Poster dimensions: 48 x 68 cm

Box dimensions: 33 x 22.7 x 3.9 cm

Each puzzle comes with a full-size poster of our design and a box stand.

Made in the EU from locally-sourced recycled paper.

A fabulous gift pack for the foodie in your life.  This pack contains:

1 x Honey & Co cookbook
1 x Jam Jar Tealights (2 Jars, 8 x candles)
1 x Spencer Cocoa Dark Chocolate

Everything you need for a plethora of beautiful nights in.  Fire up a Queen B Jam Jar Tealight candle and then delve into At Home, brought to you by the award-winning chefs behind the Honey & Co. empire, Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich present simple and delicious Middle Eastern dishes that are easy to make and a pleasure to serve.

From breads to bakes, salads to sweets, there is something for everyone in this celebration of Middle Eastern cooking.  Wholesome, fresh and seasonal ingredients are organised into chapters For Us Two, For Friends, For the Weekend, For a Crowd and The Kitchen.

Enjoy authentic recipes like Jerusalem sesame bread filled with harissa and lemon chicken, tuck into a crisp salad with saffron-poached pears with walnut tahini, or delight in a fish pastilla or a rabbit stifado, among many more. The mouth-watering recipes featured in this book are quick and simple to make.