Desmond Loren Brown – Jamaican-Canadian writer debuts children’s book, “The Boy and The Honeybees.”

BY PAUL JUNOR

Kids develop an opinion about science at an early age.  As parents and teachers, there are plenty of ways to ensure your kids have a great time while learning, and at the end of the day, the best way to make science (or any subject) fun for your children is to engage all their senses. One way to engage them is through the power of storytelling.

It was a great day on Thursday, October 6^th, 2022, when Desmond Loren Brown, a Jamaican-Canadian writer, and journalist at CBC News published his first children’s book. His fictional debut novel titled, “The Boy and The Honeybees,” describes stories about Marvin, a child who grew up in the community of White Hall in St. Thomas and is fascinated by honeybees. He enjoys watching them and has many uplifting moments in his playful encounters with them. These adventures are captured in detail in the novel.

The book shares the adventures of Marvin, a boy from the rural community of White Hall in St. Thomas parish, Jamaica, who loves to watch and play with honeybees.

Marvin’s mother knows a lot about honeybees and teaches him about their importance to the natural ecosystem and how these tiny creatures have such a mighty job — how they pollinate flowers to help plants grow and make the honey they share with us.

“It’s a children’s book that every member of the family should read and will enjoy reading,” Brown said.

“Honeybees are extremely important to the ecosystem and play an important role in food production and security. In recent years we have been hearing and reading a lot about how millions of honeybees are being lost. I want to encourage both children and adults to do what they can to protect the honeybees.”

There has been a lot of media coverage of Desmond Loren in the Caribbean press. On: Wednesday, November 23^rd, Thursday, November 24^th, Friday, November 25^th, and Sunday, November 27^th Desmond was featured in: Our Today, Dominica News Online, Barbados Today, and the Grenadian Voice News.

Brown is making an appeal to Caribbean families everywhere, particularly in Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom to consider gifting at least one child with a copy of The Boy and the Honeybees.

“I’d like people to get a copy of the book for their own family, whether you are living in: Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, or elsewhere. I am asking you to also consider sending one or two copies to a child or children back home, whether it is your relatives, friends or even to the primary school you attended,” Brown said.

“Of course, The Boy and the Honeybees is also great for children everywhere. It’s a children’s book that every member of the family should read and will enjoy reading.”

Furthermore, Brown believes that there is much that children can learn about the beauty and importance of honeybees. By fostering a love for reading and learning, the novel will have a major influence on young people not just in Jamaica but all over the Caribbean.

This is especially important to Brown due to his awareness of so many people who lack the power of reading. He notes, “When I was growing up, there were many children and adults in my community who could not read. Reading is fun and it’s beautiful. It’s a foundation for learning. All children should be afforded the opportunity to both read and learn and I hope The Boy and the Honeybees can play even a small part in this. Of course, The Boy and the Honeybees is also great for children everywhere.”

In addition to sharing the incredible beauty and importance of honeybees with children, Brown hopes The Boy and the Honeybees will encourage reading and learning, especially among young children in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, Brown says he will be reaching out to a number of organizations, as well as wealthy, influential individuals to help him get copies of his book into the hands of children in the Caribbean and beyond.

“It’s my hope that organizations and individuals, especially celebrities with a Caribbean connection or who just love the Caribbean will partner with me to send books to children in several countries,” Brown said.

He says requests will be made to get books to children in countries, including, but not limited to: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.

I interviewed Brown on Thursday, December 1^st, and he is keen to get his novel in the hands of Black families. He believes that Caribbean people living in Toronto can learn a lot about the importance of honeybees. There is respect that they deserve due to their vital role. He is convinced that increasing our environmental awareness of their importance will contribute to an appreciation and effort to ensure that their survival is maintained.

Brown invites you to join Marvin in The Boy and the Honeybees to learn how love can be shown through respect, and how you can help the honeybees too. Copies of the can be obtained at:https://books.friesenpress.com/store.Loren-The  or Amazon: https://www,amazon.com/Boy-Honeybees-Desmond

Anyone interested in learning about the work of Desmond Loren can check:

Website: https://desmonloren.com

Twitter:@desmond_loren

Facebook:Desmond Loren