One of the books I read as a child was "City of the Bees" by Frank
Stuart. Very good story about a year in the life of a wild hive,
and some of the mishaps that can happen. I loved the story and it
was one of the reasons I got into beekeeping. It was published back
in '47 and 49, but I still find copies on the web for a reasonable
price from time to time. No pictures, but still very vivid
descriptions
Vivian