Author: Leonard, M.G.
Interest age: from c 9 years
Published on 7 May 2026 by Chicken House Ltd in the United Kingdom.
Paperback | 336 pages
128 x 198 x 24 | 228g
The first book in the bestselling BATTLE OF THE BEETLES
series “ perfect for fans of Roald Dahl!
Winner of the Branford Boase Award Shortlisted
for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Children's Book
Award 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's dad is missing “ vanished from a locked room
in the Natural History Museum. The police are baffled; how can
someone disappear without a trace?
Moving in with his eccentric uncle, Darkus discovers a new friend
in a giant beetle “ and it wants to communicate.
But can a boy and a beetle be friends? And can they find Darkus's
dad together?
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 Hunt for the Golden Scarab,
Twitch and the Adventure on Trains series, co-written
with Sam Sedgman