THE BUG BANDITS

Kids join forces to protect the denizens of Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Insectarium from thieves and financial ruin.

Liberty Jacobs loves insects, though her fascination with them has earned her the nickname “Bug Girl” at school. Libs knows her entomologist father is seeking investors to help sustain the museum, situated in a rambling mansion, with a gift shop, coffee bar, workshare stations, and Libs and Dad’s apartment on the top floor. An odd overheard conversation between two men leaving the museum makes Libs believe they’re after the insectarium’s expensive specimens, including pink katydids and an endangered scorpion. But when police stakeouts fail to nab any criminals, Lib works with best friend Emmy Perez (who offers help via the phone from Florida) and popular, sporty, artistic (and surprisingly nice) classmate Cam Jones to foil the anticipated “buglary.” The trio draws inspiration from Home Alone, and the story offers plenty of suspects to consider. First-person narrator Libs, who’s cued white, inserts interesting factoids about the museum’s resident insects, tarantula, and even Kermit the iguana. She, Emmy, and Cam also navigate friendship and family expectations before the story wraps up with a neat conclusion. The cover art portrays Cam with dark skin; he’s thinly characterized as “good at everything. Great, actually,” and largely reads like a prop to support Libs’ development. Stock images showing butterflies, bees, beetles, ants, and other creatures are scattered throughout.

The young crime stoppers’ escapades will hold readers’ interest.