Resources

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Beekeeping on the Rooftops in Paris!

Meg with E.B. Goodale at the Texas Book Festival 2023

The Bees of Notre-Dame

Illustrated by E.B. Goodale

High above the bustling streets and gardens of Paris sits a little-known wonder: a cluster of beehives atop the Notre-Dame cathedral, lovingly tended to by a beekeeper named Sibyle. One fateful day… sparks fall and sirens scream. Firefighters battling heat and smoke blast water from fireboats on the seine. The whole world watches as they work to quench the flames and save the cathedral.

And what about the bees?

From the rooftops of Paris to the intricacies of a beehive, here is a moving story about resilience and hope in the face of disaster.

Accolades

  • 2024 National Council of Teacher of English Orbis Pictus Honor for Excellence in Nonfiction
  • 2025 Oklahoma Library Association Sequoyah Book Award Masterlist
  • 2025 Texas Library Association’s Texas Topaz Nonfiction Gems

 

★ “A focus on bees is an unexpectedly engaging angle to this account of the 2019 fire atop the Notre-Dame de Paris.”—Booklist, starred review

“Emphasizing resilience, this tale effectively captures a fascinating episode in recent history.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Browne’s lyrical picture book tells the story of the bees who call Notre-Dame home and the fire that threatened their hives.” —The Horn Book

“Graceful prose by Browne pays homage to Paris’s venerable Notre-Dame cathedral, and to the bees that lived atop it before its 2019 fire.”—Publishers Weekly

Resources

Click here for Classroom Activities!

Beekeeping on the Rooftops in Paris!

Meg with E.B. Goodale at the Texas Book Festival 2023