A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Minnesota State Fair for the first time in over a decade. It’s as crowded as I remember. There are plenty of distractions of food and fun, but there are also a lot of great exhibits about science, agriculture, conservation, and more. The hard work that many young people put into raising a diverse array of animals is on full display.

The Agriculture Horticulture building sits on a hill overlooking the surrounding avenues and vendors on the state fairgrounds. Built like a many-spoked wheel, it has a variety of entrances and wings of exhibits. One entire wing is dedicated to bees and honey. There were fantastic exhibits of honey and bee related arts and crafts, baked goods, as well as the subjects themselves. I managed to restrain myself from buying a plethora of honey-laced treats, but I still enjoyed the experience quite a bit.

September is National Honey Month, and whether you love honey as much as Winnie the Pooh or are an avid pollinator supporter, the library has a great selection of books to buzz your bonnet. Here are just a few.

Honey: Recipes from a Beekeeper’s Kitchen by Amy Newsome (641.68 Newsome)

Try out this fantastic book about collecting, storing, and using honey in your home including eighty tasty recipes for a variety of dishes!

Sweet Nature: a Cook’s Guide to using Honey and Maple Syrup by Beth Dooley

(641.68 Dooley)

From the savory to the sweet, check out this book to learn how you can use natural sweeteners in your cooking and baking.

The Honey Bus: a Memoir of Loss, Courage, and a Girl Saved by Bees by Meredith May (921 May)

If you’re in the mood for a more human element, check out the memoir of Meredith May, who, during a tumultuous time in her childhood, was introduced to the wonders of bees by her beekeeper grandfather.

The Backyard Beekeeper: an Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in your Yard and Garden by Kim Flottum (638.1 Flottum)

Planning for next spring or ready to roll up your sleeves to get started? Check out this handy guide of twenty-five rules for the modern beekeeper.

The Bee-Friendly Garden: Design an Abundant, Flower-Filled Yard that Nurtures Bees and Supports Biodiversity by Kate Frey (595.799 Frey)

Feel like helping bees without trying to wrangle them yourself? Use this book to plan how your yard can be an integral part of pollinator conservation.

If you’re interested in fiction, there are too many for me to highlight here! Just go to the online catalog and search using “honey” or “bees” and see how many come up. As the weather cools down and local beekeepers begin collecting the sticky sweet result of their endeavors, we hope you’ll drop by the library to enrich your understanding, expand your appreciation, or just enjoy the experience of that wonderful substance known as honey.

The library is located at 17 N. Broadway and is open to the public Monday-Thursday from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.