The first book in the bestselling BATTLE OF THE BEETLES
series – perfect for fans of Roald Dahl!
Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2017
Shortlisted
for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2017
Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Children's
Book Award 2016
Chosen for the Tom Fletcher Book Club



'Truly great storytelling.' MICHAEL MORPURGO



'Funny, exciting and genuinely eccentric' PHILIP
REEVE


'Roald Dahl meets 101 Dalmatians in a rollicking
ride, full of adventure with vivid characters' EXPRESS



'By the end, you'll think beetles are the coolest creatures
on the planet' TOM FLETCHER


Darkus can't believe his eyes when a huge insect drops out of
the trouser leg of his horrible new neighbour. It's a giant beetle
– and it seems to want to communicate.


But how can a boy be friends with a beetle? And what does a beetle
have to do with the disappearance of his dad and the arrival
of Lucretia Cutter, with her taste for creepy jewellery?





The first book in MG Leonard's acclaimed trilogy, followed
by Beetle Queen and Battle of the Beetles!


Featuring exotic beetles, a daring quest, a mixture of
bold male and female characters and a truly venomous villain


Includes brilliant illustrations by Julia Sardà


From the author of Twitch and the Adventure
on Trains series, co-written with Sam Sedgman