The Bee-Man of Orn

by Frank R. Stockton, P.J. Lynch (Illustrator)

The Bee-Man lives humbly and contentedly until a Junior Sorcerer happens by with some disturbing news: the Bee-man, he says, has been transformed--he once was someone (or something) entirely different. But who? Or what? A giant or a prince? A dog or a dragon? The now restless Bee-man sets out on a quest to discover the answer.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Short Stories, Adventure, Fairy Tales

48 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1887

About the author

Frank Richard Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known today for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular during the last decades of the 19th century. Stockton avoided the didactic moralizing common to children's stories of the time, instead using clever humor to poke at greed, violence, abuse of power and other human foibles, describing his fantastic characters' adventures in a charming, matter-of-fact way.

Reviews

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written at the turn of the 20th century, The Bee-Man of Orn shurgs off the didactic noose which threatened a lot of children's literature at the time and, instead, seems to honour the themes and ideas prevalent in the earlier traditional tales in which it feels like it has been based. Here we encounter greed and arrogance that comes with wealth as well as the wonderful Bee-Man himself who comes across as simple, yet happy with his lot. This is a story with a wonderful moral and very easy to read. The language is rich and although it may be a product of its time, linguistically, it is nevertheless a creative and well-crafted story. Children, I suppose, would especially like the Bee-Man's journey into the caves of evil goblins and monsters as he goes on his quest to find out who he truly is.
All this aside, it is Sendak's beautiful illustrations which help take this book to a level of deep joy and a sense of time and place. From his characters to his landscape, every page was an absolute pleasure to turn and explore.

[W.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently in a big Frank Stockton phase and enjoying so much of what I read. If you are in the mood for fables, fairy tales, and a lighter sort of nineteenth century sci-fi, Stockton is your go-to guy. I had no idea this Philadelphian was so prolific or that he had to negotiate a serious disability (crippling vision loss) for much of his life. He was hugely popular in his day but people seem to mostly remember him only for the gimmicky short short "The Lady, or the Tiger?" But he wrote much else besides and there are really gorgeous illustrated editions of his work that came out in his lifetime. They are fun to collect and not all that expensive. I'm not so sure his novels have aged as well as his better short stories. I haven't read those yet, but I'm basing that educated guess on what I have read about them.It's no surprise that Maurice Sendak chose to illustrate two tales by Stockton and that one of them was the title story of this collection. "The Bee-Man of Orn" is pure Sendak before Sendak. It's a great little fairy tale and one that's fun to read aloud to younger folks too. Don't be surprised if a recovery of his work occurs in the near future and he lights up a movie screen near you. His work is rife for a cinematic swoop. Most good things get revisited sooner or later. Stockton is such a good thing.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oversize and over-long, but a good story, with pretty pictures. I would have liked to have read the edition illustrated by Sendak, though. I see that, indeed, this and other tales by Stockton are available on Project Gutenberg and I will add them to my list.

[Paulo Vinicius Figueiredo dos Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Em uma narrativa que mescla fantasia e filosofia, Frank Richard Stockton nos mostra a jornada do Homem-Abelha. Ele vivia em uma cabana simples na floresta. Humilde, era um homem velho e considerado feio e encarquilhado pelos seus pares. Mas, era feliz ao lado de suas abelhas. Um dia, um Feiticeiro Principiante passa pela cabana e diz a ele que provavelmente ele fora enfeitiçado. Que essa não era sua verdadeira forma. O Homem-Abelha fica estarrecido com a revelação e pergunta ao Feiticeiro Principiante se ele poderia ajudá-lo. Infelizmente, como ele era apenas um aprendiz, ele nada poderia fazer. Mas, se ele descobrisse o que ele era antes de ser o Homem-Abelha, ele poderia pedir a ajuda de feiticeiros mais experientes e transformá-lo de volta naquilo que ele era antes. É então que nosso protagonista sai em busca de sua verdadeira identidade.

Esse conto tem tantas interpretações diferentes que fica até difícil para mim não dar spoilers. Eu vou tentar não ir muito a fundo nos debates e só tocar em dois pontos: a descoberta do eu e o altruísmo intrínseco. Está na cara que essa é uma jornada de auto-descoberta. Mas, ela foge um pouco do que estamos acostumados. Isso porque Stockton faz com que o protagonista usa sua intuição para tentar descobrir o que ele era. É como se ele buscasse uma afinação, algo que lhe dê o estalo em seu cérebro e lhe diga o que ele era na verdade. O conto é uma aula sobre o que é o método empírico. Isso porque o personagem se utiliza do senso comum para resolver os obstáculos que aparecem pelo seu caminho. A descoberta do eu acaba se mesclando com essa metodologia. Só que há uma pequena reviravolta nisso: nós somos uma construção social e emocional feita a partir de uma experiência acumulada ao longo de anos. Ninguém nos transformou no que somos; nós é que nos transformamos.

Stockton também coloca uma situação curiosa. Durante a narrativa o personagem é colocado em uma situação em que ele precisa sacrificar algo precioso a ele. E ele faz isso sem pestanejar. O curioso é que o personagem não sabia que era corajoso, mesmo sendo corajoso. Essa é uma ideia que faz parte das formulações socráticas e é um questionamento e uma provocação: o ser humano é programado para fazer o bem de forma altruísta? Somos heróis por natureza? Na dita situação o personagem acaba deixando de lado algo que fazia parte dele, apenas para salvar alguém que lhe era desconhecido. Por que ele faz isso? Falo dessa questão em um momento que vivemos um mundo sombrio onde a sociedade tornou as pessoas individualistas demais. Onde a noção de heroísmo se perdeu em gradações de utilitarismo. Pensamos de forma material e não mais altruisticamente. Não sei se Stockton ou Sócrates formulariam o mesmo pensamento nos dias de hoje. É algo a se pensar.

A estrutura da narrativa segue o modelo dos contos de fadas. A tradução está muito boa e facilita a leitura. O padrão da história é aquele mesmo: são colocados três obstáculos que o protagonista precisa superar e ao final nós temos a mensagem que o autor deseja passar. Simples, mas com uma carga de mensagens impressionante.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a truly delightful fairy tale by Frank Stockton. I found myself laughing with delight many times throughout. I’m definitely going to explore more of his work Sendak’s illustrations are a lot of fun as well.

[Jorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- The Bee-man of Orn is quite content in his small beehive of a house with all of his bees and honey until a Junior Sorcerer tells him that he was transformed. In other words, no one would ever CHOOSE to live this way, so he had to have been something or someone else before. This disturbs the Bee-man so much that he packs up a hive of bees in some straw to go along with the hive he carries in his doublet and sets off on a journey to 'find' himself. Through his adventures, he comes to believe he has been transformed from a BABY, so the sorcerers change him back to a baby. Years later, the Junior - now Senior - Sorcerer passes through Orn and sees beehive of a hut and realizes that he is looking at the baby which had been transformed from the Bee-man. "Upon my word!" exclaimed the Sorcerer. "He has grown up into the same thing again!" The story is very clever, as I expect from Frank Stockton, having taught The Lady or the Tiger? for years; however, there is a character that I am not sure would be appreciated by all present-day readers.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The version we read was illustrated by Maurice Sendak. His drawings felt just right for the tale.

I read this in one sitting to my 3.5-year-old son. He enjoyed it very much. I liked it quite a bit, too, enough to pursue other Stockton titles at the library. We recommended it to my 9-year-old niece. I think it's just about right for her to read to herself.

Second reading, 2018: my husband read this aloud to us all. 7 year old & 5 year old loved it, 2 year old didn't care (no surprise there).

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating: 3.5 stars

The Bee-Man will join Rumplestilskin in my list of characters that allow for varied interpretations. I'll watch for other renditions of this eccentric personality.

I like the beginning and end of the tale, the middle is just okay. Why didn't the bee man wonder if he had been not a dragon or a prince or anything like that, but perhaps a bee?

[Tim Pendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A definitely weird children's fairy tale that eschews moralism for philosophy ... in this case, whether, by returning to what we were in the past, we inevitably end up being what we are in the future. Is there any escaping our unfolding nature? A variant of the 'eternal return' for children. Strange.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story rambles on; both the prose and plot seem haphazardly put together. The illustrations are it's only saving grace and they are jaw-droppingly amazing.

[elise rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so random and I’m totally here for it. 😂

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bee-Man of Orn, illustrated by P.J. Lynch

Poor but contented, the eponymous Bee-Man of Orn lived in a humble hut that had been transformed into a bee hive by all of his apian charges. Visited one day by a Junior Sorcerer, he discovered that he had once been something else, and assured by that magic maker that he could be transformed back into whatever he had once been, if only he could discover what it was, he set out on a quest to uncover his true nature. Passing through a village, a great lord's domain, and a mountain filled with dragons and evil spirits, the Bee-Man had many adventures. Saving a baby from one fierce dragon, he managed to restore the child to his grieving mother, and thereby learned the truth about his former self: he had once been a baby himself! Armed with this piece of knowledge, he was restored to his former self... but would it change who he truly was...?

Originally published in 1883 in the pages of St Nicholas Magazine, and then included in a somewhat different version in the 1887 The Bee-Man of Orn and Other Fanciful Tales, this original fairy-tale from 19th-century American writer and fabulist Frank R. Stockton was first made into a picture book in 1964, with illustrations by the immortal Maurice Sendak. This new picture book presentation, published in 2003, boasts the gorgeous artwork of Irish illustrator P.J. Lynch. I'm very glad to have finally tracked this story down, because I have been meaning to read it, and more of Stockton's work—I own a gorgeous old edition of The Queen's Museum and Other Fanciful Tales from 1906—and because I always enjoy Lynch's beautiful work. I thought the central idea here was intriguing, despite not being sure whether it was that one's nature and fate were predetermined—after all, despite being turned into a baby again, and getting to live his life twice, the Bee-Man still ended up the Bee-Man—or that the nature of life itself is change, and one has always been something else before becoming what one currently is. The adventure itself was engrossing, and I appreciated the flashes of humor throughout, such as when the Bee-Man realizes he can never be a great lord, as he could never kick a poor old man. The accompanying artwork, done in watercolors, is simply breathtaking, with magical scene after magical scene, and a gorgeously warm color palette.

This is very wordy for a picture book. In truth, it's more of an illustrated short story. I'd recommend it to young fairy-tale and fantasy lovers, either slightly older children who can read well, or younger ones with a good attention span. I'd also recommend it to fellow P.J. Lynch fans.

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book out loud to my six year old and then had the pleasure of watching the making of DVD that came in the front. My daughter, who now sits beside me, insists that I type: "WE LOVE THE BOOK! WE LOVE THE BOOK! WE LOVE THE BOOK!" Because we do love this book, and we equally loved seeing how Mr. Lynch drew and watercolored his amazing illustrations. It was important in our house to see this process because we both do a lot of drawing ourselves and my kiddo gets very frustrated with little effort not creating great masterpieces. I'm pleased that she was able to see an example of the best work and how many steps and grueling hours it actually takes, but how it is ultimately worth the time and diligence. We shall re-read the Bee-Man of Orn for years to come and hope others find delight in its pages as well.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book illustrated by Maurice Sendak that was donated to the used bookstore where I volunteer. This was new to me as is Frank R. Stockton, evidently an important writer for children years ago. This story is long, intriguing in its underlying lesson, and some surprising action along the way.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this a few times before finally reading it. Classic fairy tale with humor and most importantly (now) with illustrations by Maurice Sendak in this, his second “collaboration” with Frank Stockton, who lived in the 1800s.

[Kerry Clair · Rating 2 out of 5]

A silly book of fables.