Trouble in Bugland

A collection of five detective stories with an all-insect cast of characters.

Follow Inspector Mantis, of brilliant mind, supersensitive antennae, and iron grip, and his faithful sidekick Doctor Hopper, an accomplished violinist and long-jumper, along with a bevy of buggy bandits, as they solve entomological cases with clever sleuthing. Going forth from his little flat at 221B Flea Street, Inspector Mantis, accompanied by his trusted colleague Doctor Hopper, solves "The Case of the Missing Butterfly," "The Case of the Caterpillar's Head," and three other antennae-bending mysteries puzzling the populace of Victorian Bugland.

Criminal detection, combined entomology, makes this, in the words of The Horn Book, "the most engaging and cleverest reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson yet." Joe Servello's color and pen-&-ink drawings bring exquisite period detail to these tales: steam engines, deerstalkers, fog, and mandibles have never been more lovingly crosshatched.

This is a treat for any kid—as a read-alone or read-aloud—who loves a funny mystery.

Praise for Trouble in Bugland

Do not miss! —Chicago Tribune

Excitement and humor! Children who know Conan Doyle's Holmes will most enjoy Trouble in Bugland. But even those who don't are likely to appreciate the book's sly mock seriousness and flights of rhetoric and imagination. —New York Times Book Review

Kotzwinkle and Servello have created a little gem that should appeal to children of all ages. Bravo, Joe and Bill! An encore, perhaps? —Philadelphia Inquirer

In Trouble in Bugland, William Kotzwinkle delivers five fanciful short detective stories for children eight years old and up. . . . You don't have to be a bookworm to like Trouble in Bugland. All you need is a taste for fantasy and good humor. —Boston Herald

A first rate presentation! —Detroit News

The bizarrely fertile imagination of William Kotzwinkle takes off again in this collection. . . . These stories reflect Kotzwinkle's devilishly sly play upon the Holmes canon and its accompanying idiosyncrasies. —American Library Association Booklist

Clever and suspenseful —School Library Journal

Sherlock Holmes fans of all ages—and entomology nuts—must read Trouble in Bugland, a hilarious homage to Arthur Conan Doyle. Illustrator Joe Servello's handsome pictures in color and black and white are a grand accompaniment to Kotzwinkle's clever and playful stories. —Newsday

This amusing collection of five short mysteries is a delightful takeoff. . . . Joe Servello's colorful, detailed, and abundant drawings of the many legged critters do much to enhance the Victorian atmosphere of the tales. —Christian Science Monitor