CREATIVE CUTS -Nautilus Award

Mooloolah Valley native beekeeper Matthew Middleton is celebrating a second international award for his illustrated children’s book Princess Bee and the Boy.

He and his wife (and editor) Juliet were having their morning cups of tea last week when they saw with delight that Princess Bee and the Boy had won a Silver Nautilus award. 

The US-based Nautilus awards receive hundreds of entries from around the world each year, and are awarded to ‘books that made us think, make us improve, and make us aware’. This win for Princess Bee and the Boy comes on top of the bronze Moonbeam award collected last year, which is dedicated to supporting childhood literacy and life-long reading.

“I am just so thrilled to think that our little self-published book is spreading the word about the importance of looking after the world’s native bees,” Matthew, who runs native bee business Beezotted, said. 

Matthew shares the honours with illustrator Jade de Baecque, and book designer Glenbo Craig.

Copies of Princess Bee and the Boy are available at beezotted.com.au/shop and also at Rosetta Books in Maleny, the Little Book Nook in Palmwoods, and Australian libraries.