Little bear and the bees

Little Bear is in the kitchen looking for some honey, but the honey jar is empty. So, he goes to the garden to ask his bees friends to give him some. Along the road he comes across Mole, who tells him that the bees cannot make honey anymore becasue someone has poisoned the garden! Even the flowers are no longer blossoming there. “Without flowers we can’t make honey” the bees say. Little Bear wants to help, so he brings the bees’ house to another garden filled with flowers. The Bees thank him and they promise they will make honey very soon! This time Little Bear will eat an apple for breakfast.

Author & Illustrator

Attilio Cassinelli is an internationally acclaimed painter, designer, and illustrator whose work has shaped the landscape of Italian children’s literature for decades. His extraordinary career was crowned by a Special Jury Award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, a testament to his global influence. Other prestigious honours include the Andersen Special Jury Award (2017) and the Nati per Leggere Award (2017 with Little Red Riding Hood and 2020 with Primo).

In 2021, the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome dedicated a monographic exhibition to him: Evergreen. The Story of Attilio.

This marked a historic milestone, as it was the first time this prestigious institution opened its doors to the language of illustration, showcasing over eighty original works, studies, and models. His international impact was further recognised in 2022, when El País, Spain’s leading newspaper, dedicated a major feature to him for his 99th birthday.

Attilio passed away in June 2024 at the age of one hundred, leaving behind a limitless legacy. His work continues to be celebrated today: in 2026, the exhibition Attilio – Il castello dei bambini honours the genius of an artist who made simplicity an immortal art form.

His books are not just stories, but masterful exercises in visual synthesis, created to foster a child’s first encounter with art and narrative. His work is an enduring dialogue between geometry and emotion, designed to speak directly to the youngest readers.