Jean-François Sénéchal Pascale Bonenfant
The Solitary Bee Colette
bee beetle
lizard
ladybug
seagull
worm #2
worm #3
To my daughter Marie, who, like Colette, learned that the most beautiful moments in life are experienced with others.
— J.-F. S.
To Mathilde.
— P. B.
Colette, the Solitary Bee
Text copyright © 2025 Jean-François Sénéchal
Illustration copyright © 2025 Pascale Bonenfant
Copyright © 2025 Milky Way Picture Books
All rights reserved.
Translation by Nick Frost and Catherine Ostiguy
Art direction by Nadine Robert
Book design by Jolin Masson
Proofreading by Nick Frost
This edition published in 2025 by Milky Way Picture Books, an imprint of Comme des géants inc. Varennes, Quebec, Canada.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written consent of the publisher or a license
The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec and Library and Archives Canada
Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Colette, the solitary bee / Jean-François Sénéchal; illustrations, Pascale Bonenfant; translation, Nick Frost, Catherine Ostiguy.
Other titles: Colette n’a besoin de personne. English
Names: Sénéchal, Jean-François, 1976- author. Bonenfant, Pascale, 1979- illustrator. Frost, Nick, translator. Ostiguy, Catherine, translator.
Description: Translation of: Colette n’a besoin de personne.
Identifiers: Canadiana 20240014448 ISBN 9781990252396 (hardcover)
Classification: LCC PS8637.E5226 C6513 2025 | DDC jC843/.6—dc23
ISBN: 978-1-990252-39-6 Printed and bound in China
Milky Way Picture Books
38 Sainte-Anne Street Varennes, QC J3X 1R5 Canada
www.milkywaypicturebooks.com
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada.
We gratefully acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing program the Canada Council for the Arts and the Government of Canada.
The Solitary Bee Colette
text by
Jean-François Sénéchal
Translated into English by Nick Frost and Catherine
Ostiguy
art by Pascale Bonenfant
Colette is a solitary bee.
She can do a lot of things by herself.
Colette can…
eat by herself, fly by herself, and even make friends by herself. forage by herself,
In fact, she doesn’t really need anyone else.
Colette is also very clever.
She knows how to…
avoid getting lost in the forest,
keep the monsters away at night,
And she knows all about the animals that live in the forest. and protect herself from a storm.
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bee beetle
lizard
ladybug
seagull
worm #2
worm #3
Colette: The Solitary Bee is an adorable, heartwarming tale that shows us we can be proud to do things by ourselves, but it’s also nice to share our lived experiences with those around us.
ISBN 978-1-990252-39-6 U.S. 17.99 Can. 22.99 51799