A Swarm in May — William Mayne

'I don't see why I should be Beekeeper, Owen thought, just because Crew is away from school with mumps and I'm the youngest Singing Boy in the school.'

One of the traditional duties of the Beekeeper is to sing a solo in the cathedral, and Owen hates that prospect, so he persuades Iddingley to take his place.

When Owen, Trevithic and Dubnet go exploring one of the cathedral towers without permission, Owen finds something which makes him change his mind, and solves a mystery which has been baffling people for hundreds of years...

'Elusive, elliptical, uncompromising . . . I read and re-read it. I wished I had written it, I began to feel almost that I could write it. It showed me the way I must go.' Jan Mark

'A brilliant and exciting book.' Observer

'It is pure joy...' Sunday Times