What is "bee-bite" (in Ginger Pye)?

[msk]

Because Google has failed me utterly: if you've read Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes, what is "bee-bite?"

 

I don't think it is a bee sting. Rachel wakes up because her lip is swollen and feels funny, but the story never mentions it hurting at all (which a bee sting on the lip certainly would). Everyone in the story says things like "Rachel has bee-bite" as if it were some sort of illness, not "Rachel got a bee bite" which is what I'd expect if they meant a bee sting. So what is this strange malady?

 

(Yes, my 5yo is fixated on this, but perfectly willing to accept that the children's mother lets her young kids go swimming alone at a distant reservoir when a creepy stranger is known to be stalking them. Kids... :))

[Kirch]

I wondered this myself when reading Ginger Pye. :confused: The only things I can find online refer to bee stings.

[Dmmetler]

Maybe a cold sore or fever blister?

[stripe]

I got to this scene in Ginger Pye and thought I remembered a thread where Jean in Newcastle asked or talked about it, but this is the only thread I could find.

 

Did you ladies ever figure this out??

 

Her lip swelled up huge in the middle of the night and her mom gave her something to "bathe" it with, and it went back down.

[Laura Corin]

Some people do talk about being 'bitten' by a bee. There's that line in ?The Maltese Falcon? 'Have you ever been bit by a dead bee?'

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

Some people do talk about being 'bitten' by a bee. There's that line in ?The Maltese Falcon? 'Have you ever been bit by a dead bee?'

 

Laura

[Melinda in VT]

I wondered about this as well. Something like a cold sore was my best guess.

 

This book holds the record in our house for the worst chapter-book read-aloud ever.

[stripe]

I wondered about this as well. Something like a cold sore was my best guess.

 

This book holds the record in our house for the worst chapter-book read-aloud ever.

 

But I've never heard of a cold sore that causes rapid swelling of the entire lip. Or one that goes away when some solution is applied to it.

 

I have to say, we are really enjoying it! My kids seem to like books by Estes. They are sort of quirky. Even I, who was hesitant to read it, have found it pretty funny. They love the Unsavory Character plot line.

[Myra]

Don't know - but our cats are named Gracie Pye and Pinky Pye - guess what book we were reading when we got them!?!!? Unfortunately, they are both male cats with sort of female-sounding names!

And our duck................is MobyDuck - same logic.

 

Myra

[stripe]

I asked the local reference librarian, who found no definitive answer, suggesting either some sort of bug bite or cold sore. She researched regional terms and didn't find anything but said I could go to a health sciences/medical library, but I, er, don't think I need to know that desperately!

[Kathryn]

I feel the need to bump this because we now have this problem. DS is very upset about this and needs to figure it out. I have to say, I'm not all that excited about this book.

[Mothersweets]

I've read this aloud TWICE to my kids (different age sets) and we never were able to figure it out.

 

While the overall story was interesting and the perpendicular swimmer, unsavory character, etc. were all fun, quirky bits that we enjoyed-we just couldn't believe how dense the children were. How could they not realize that it was that one boy who had stolen Ginger?!!

[VaKim]

It's the same mystery as the "wincy" dress in Anne of Green Gables.

Found this one.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linsey-woolsey

[KrissiK]

I wondered about this as well. Something like a cold sore was my best guess.

 

This book holds the record in our house for the worst chapter-book read-aloud ever.

Seriously? We loved this book. The kids still talk about Uncle Benny. I think the bee-bite was a bee sting. When ds was a toddler he put a dead wasp in his mouth and it stung him. I don't recall it hurt him too badly, but his lip about quadrupled in size for a few hours.

[Mandy in TN]

Alright, I was curious and here is what I found. Eleanor Estes also wrote a short book titled Miranda the Great. Miranda was a cat and the story was set in ancient Rome. Anyway, in the first chapter she writes that Miranda's daughter Punka was stung by a bee on her nose and throat. In the second chapter she writes, "Punka, because of the old bee-bite, smelled nothing." So, this leads me to believe that the same is true for Ginger Pye and Estes was referring to a bee sting. However, it is entirely possible that, at this time, any bug bite or sting was generically referred to as a bee-bite.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[kiwik]

I've had cold sores that went from zero to whole lip swollen in a couple of hours but they hurt. When my son gets bitten by mosquitoes at night it comes up in a big lump.

 

winciette is a cotton wool blend.

[tammyw]

Oh we love Ginger Pye, and that bee bite thing never even gave us pause (maybe we just aren't that observant!)

[ocelotmom]

I wondered about this as well. Something like a cold sore was my best guess.

 

This book holds the record in our house for the worst chapter-book read-aloud ever.

It has awfully long chapters. DS loved it, but I found it hard going, even though I loved the Eleanor Estes books as a kid.

 

I always just assumed it was a bee sting.

[Kathryn]

Alright, I was curious and here is what I found. Eleanor Estes also wrote a short book titled Miranda the Great. Miranda was a cat and the story was set in ancient Rome. Anyway, in the first chapter she writes that Miranda's daughter Punka was stung by a bee on her nose and throat. In the second chapter she writes, "Punka, because of the old bee-bite, smelled nothing." So, this leads me to believe that the same is true for Ginger Pye and Estes was referring to a bee sting. However, it is entirely possible that, at this time, any bug bite or sting was generically referred to as a bee-bite.

 

HTH-

Mandy

Thank you! I assumed it was a bee sting, but DS was disturbed about the terminology used and sure it must be something else. I hope this puts it to rest!

[Terabith]

I thought it was a bee sting, but I'm not sure.

[Terabith]

We listened to it on audio book.  The kids adored it, as well as Pinky Pye.  My husband, however, commented that it was painful for him to listen because of the fact that nothing ever really happened but the nothing was described in excruciating detail.  Reality was also quite strained by the number of people and animals that could fit into a Model T car.  Well, and a cat that types, but that's beside the point.  He says, "It was both boring and over the top ridiculous at the same time."  The kids, however, adored it.  Liked them even more than the Moffats.  I agreed with my husband but loved it anyway. 

[nmoira]

I'd assumed it was a bee sting. FWIW, I just did a few searches in google books and came up dry for "have bee-bite" and "got bee-bite" with the exception of Estes. Every other mention of "bee bite" referred to either a bee sting (by far the most common) or something reminiscent of a bee sting, typically slightly puckered lips and nipples.

[kirstenhill]

We listened to it on audio book.  The kids adored it, as well as Pinky Pye.  My husband, however, commented that it was painful for him to listen because of the fact that nothing ever really happened but the nothing was described in excruciating detail.  Reality was also quite strained by the number of people and animals that could fit into a Model T car.  Well, and a cat that types, but that's beside the point.  He says, "It was both boring and over the top ridiculous at the same time."  The kids, however, adored it.  Liked them even more than the Moffats.  I agreed with my husband but loved it anyway. 

 

Oh, that is exactly how I felt about it too.  Too much detail about nothing important.  My DD loved it though.  I haven't been able to bring myself to add any more Estes books to our list though for fear that the style would be similar. ;-)

 

And I too just assumed that bee-bite was a funny name for a bee sting.  

[Desert Strawberry]

A solution of baking soda in water will remove the sting and swelling from a bee sting. That would be my guess.

[msk]

How strange to see this thread resurrected again-- I guess it's one of the mysteries of the ages.  :001_smile:   I like Mandy's guess-- we've read Miranda the Great a bunch of times, but somehow I never made the connection!

 

It's true that nothing much happens in Ginger Pye, but sometimes my kids seem to enjoy books that are just a "picture" of someone else's childhood, even if that picture is entirely made up.  My now-7yo (who was 5 when I asked this question!) really likes "The Saturdays" right now, which is kind of similar in that way.

[Caitilin]

The Saturdays is much less tedious. Enright beats Estes every time. :)

[msk]

I totally agree.  I was so happy to be finished with Ginger Pye.  And I never understood why the male dog had a girl's name. 

 

That one I do know-- "Ginger" used to be a nickname for anyone with reddish hair, male or female.  I think it still is in the UK?  I'm not sure when it became a girl-only name in the US-- maybe after Gilligan's Island.

[Desert Strawberry]

That one I do know-- "Ginger" used to be a nickname for anyone with reddish hair, male or female. I think it still is in the UK? I'm not sure when it became a girl-only name in the US-- maybe after Gilligan's Island.

My 2 red haired boys are often called ginger. There seems to be a resurgence. I was always called strawberry or carrot.