The Manchester Bee
The Manchester Bee has been the best-known symbol of Manchester since 1842. Serving as the city’s emblem for over 150 years. The worker bee symbolises Mancunians’ hard work ethic and paints a picture of how the city is a hive of activity. It has also come to represent a sense of unity in our great city.
While writing this story, images of everything amazing about this city flew through Peter’s mind. The busy little bee was going about its business while Manchester’s heart and soul beat, proving it’s alive. The Manchester Bee shows readers everything wonderful and all that should be celebrated about this great city.
The bee stands for community, dedication and personal power. It gives us love and hope when we need it most.
This book is perfect not only for children but adults too. Hop onto the Bee’s back and take a journey through the streets and skies of Manchester, where anything is possible.
The Manchester Bee
Hi. I’m the Manchester Bee, and I like to keep busy.
In fact, the saying ‘as busy as a bee’ comes from my city. Years ago, when the workers worked in Manchester’s mills, they were said to be a hive of activity. Hundreds and thousands of workers each day would go to work their socks off. Manchester was the centre of the world back then and led the industrial revolution. We created the finest silks and cotton and shipped them all over the world.
Times have changed now, and Manchester is known for so many other wonderful things. It’s full of amazing people, music, food, and much more. It is rich with culture, and I get to see it all from high up in the sky to up close. I love it.
There are pictures of the worker bee all over my city. It symbolises hard work, community and unity. Everyone comes together to support each other in this city when times are hard, and I help them do that.
Thank you for visiting me. I’m sure you’re all really busy, just like me.
Meet the Illustrator
Nastia Peace grew up in the capital of culture, St. Petersburg, Russia, where she also raised her beautiful son. She has been drawing since childhood and loves to use different styles, not just one medium. She is an expert in the use of different software: Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, Sketchbook and Figma, and also loves to create art through sketching and use of watercolours. One of Nastia’s proudest moments was when she had her work exhibited for all the public to see.
Nastia loves to travel the world. She has travelled across India and Nepal, and it was when she came back home she realised that she couldn’t draw without travelling. Nastia plans to travel to see all the colours of Turkey, Israel and Asia. She travels for inspiration. ‘If I can’t draw, then why live at all…I draw to feel alive!’