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Beetle Boy

Book
Beetle Boy by M.G. Leonard

As seen:

By M.G. Leonard

avg rating

178 reviews

 

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

Reviews

09 May 2025

Good

09 Sep 2024

The most amazing adventure, that was so unique. The facts you learnt about the insects were so detailed too.
Perfect for Year 4+, or Year 3 able readers.

13 Jul 2024

My favourite character was Baxter the beetle because he could read Darkus mind. If you like a comedy book this is a book for you

24 Jan 2024

I liked Darkus' beetle the best

10 Dec 2023

Full of adventure and lots of beetles. Lecretia is a monster,

04 Dec 2023

It's nice but I don't like the girl luticia cuttle she is so violent she got the girl with a stick and knocked her out cause she could have died from a crash but survived it but she is on walking sticks that she got the girl with her daughter So it was good but that part and darkus being kidnapped and still taking a life risk for a piece of information

21 Sep 2023

Love the story and all the characters! Really interesting spin on the curiosity of children and the world around them!

10 Sep 2023

Amazing

03 Sep 2023

i didn't really enjoy this book but i would reccommend it to someone who has a love for adventure and bugs

18 Aug 2023

I didn't like the bit where the boy got shot and I sometimes found it a bit scary.

09 Aug 2023

this book was a bit boring but it was also a very good read.

07 Aug 2023

Loved it!!! Very late to the party with this one - it's been in my library for ages and on my TBR list for even longer! Great plot, wonderful characters, really engaging dialogue and descriptions! Went into school today to find the next installment: Beetle Queen!

27 Jul 2023

I really enjoyed the book! It was fun reading.

19 Jul 2023

nice with lots of twists

16 Jul 2023

Nice,funny

12 Jul 2023

I adore this book one of my most favourite books ever

06 Jul 2023

I love this book so much and am looking forward to reading beetle queen

04 Dec 2022

This book is fictional, but it feels like it could be out of someone's life. I loved the main character, Darkus Cuttle and the mystery surrounding his father. However, I could not believe one thing of the person who captured Darkus's father. I would recommend this to anyone aged 8 - 11 who love mystery and adventure.

22 Sep 2022

I would recommend this book to readers that like adventure and mystery, but also that like things that are a bit gory.

18 Sep 2022

This book is all about a boy (called Darkus) who’s father goes missing. The police can’t find any clues, but Darkus and his Uncle Max set up their own investigation with Darkus' best friends: loud, daring Virginia and quiet, timid Bertolt. A story that keeps you on the edge of your seat, always making you wonder and ask lots of questions. I found that once I started the book I couldn’t stop predicting and reading on. I would recommend this book to anyone.

04 Sep 2022

I am facinated by beetles and this book is full of them. I loved it. The baddy is very believable

02 Sep 2022

I really enjoyed this book and it was my favourite so far because it was about a boy who se mum died when he was only four years old. Luckily, the book has a happy ending. I do recommend it especially to people who like mysteries, beetles and adventures.

31 Aug 2022

I liked this book because it’s very adventurous and I couldn’t put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone aged 10+ who likes dark adventure stories.

25 Aug 2022

Great! Action packed!

17 Aug 2022

Quirky, funny and full of adventure

15 Aug 2022

I have been reading this with school and wanted to finish the book. It is really interesting and I like the main character

07 Aug 2022

I thought this book was really good because there's was so much going on at a time and tension was building though nearly the whole book especially near the end. I enjoyed every page of the book.

26 Jul 2022

Lovely book.

19 Jul 2022

This is a great book my favourite person was Vanessa.
I would definitely recommend this to someone.
I loved how they cared about the bugs so much.

08 Jul 2022

I liked when his dad went missing and they couldn't find him because they thought he ran away or something like that, that's why I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book for people who love adventure and action stories.

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