Beetle Boy

An adventure-filled, quirky story for the bug lovers out there! Darkus Cuttle's father has suddenly vanished, leaving his office in the Natural History Museum of London eerily empty. Everyone thinks he's dead. But Darkus knows his father is alive. Taken in by his uncle, Darkus resolves to unveil the mystery of his father's disappearance. Another mystery comes in the form of a fateful meeting with a rhinoceros beetle Darkus finds outside his comical neighbors' house. The beetle rushes to Darkus' defense against school bullies and the two soon become inseparable. But Baxter, as Darkus calls him, is unlike any other beetle – he's enormous, and he seems to understand the boy. While working to uncover the mystery of his father's whereabouts, Darkus and his friends are pulled into one wild discovery after the next – a strange infestation of intelligent beetles in the dilapidated home of his loud, foolish neighbors; Darkus father's past as a natural scientist with a pivotal agenda; and a powerful celebrity's bizarre fascination with collecting and killing beetles. When Darkus and his friends discover that the fate of the beetles and his father are connected, they mount a buggy operation to both keep the beetles safe and rescue Mr. Cuttle. This is a mischievous tale combining adventure, mad science-fiction, and mystery with endearingly ludicrous characters. Best of all, the friendly beetles in this book are endearing characters in their own right, and they use the “powers" of their real-life counterparts to surmount obstacles the kids encounter. Youngsters with an interest in insects will eat this up! 304 pgs, pb.