The Bug Bandits: The Museum Is Her Home. Her Mission Is to Save It.

by Jenni L Walsh

Overview

Home Alone meets A Night in the Museum in this clever middle-grade heist story by USA Today bestselling author Jenni L. Walsh. When a science-loving girl and her friends overhear a plot to rob her dad’s insectarium, they embark on a mission to stop the burglary of the museum’s rarest insects. Inspired by true events, this STEM-based adventure is perfect for fans of hijinks and mysteries.

Without a mom and with her dad busy running the museum, Liberty Jacobs was practically raised by the tarantulas, leopard geckos, and rare butterflies of the Walnut Street Insectarium. She loves being the resident “Bug Girl,” but unless Liberty and her dad can snag a big investor, they’ll lose the museum, their home, and the funding Liberty needs to launch her dream business: a butterfly release program called Life & Liberty.

The investor meeting is a week away, but there’s a big problem: Liberty has reason to suspect there’s going to be a "buglary" of the museum’s rarest animals. But the police don’t believe her, and with Dad out of town for an insect convention, it’s up to Liberty and her friends (and her vast knowledge of bug defense mechanisms) to thwart the thieves and save the museum.

The Bug Bandits is:

• perfect for readers ages 8 and up who love mystery and suspense
• An empowering story of adventure, friendship, and courage
• Ideal for fans of Blue Balliett, James Ponti, and Deron Hicks

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310167921
Publisher:	Zonderkidz
Publication date:	05/06/2025
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jenni L. Walsh worked for a decade enticing readers as an award-winning advertising copywriter before becoming an author. Her passion lies in transporting readers to another world, be it in historical or contemporary settings. She is a proud graduate of Villanova University, and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, daughter, son, and various pets.

Jenni is the USA TODAY bestselling author of historical novels Becoming Bonnie, Side by Side, A Betting Woman, The Call of the Wrens, Unsinkable, and Ace, Marvel, Spy. She also writes books for children, including the nonfiction She Dared series and historical novels Hettie and the London Blitz, I Am Defiance, By the Light of Fireflies, Over and Out, and Operation: Happy. To learn more about Jenni and her books, please visit jennilwalsh.com or @jennilwalsh on social media.

Editorial Reviews

The Bug Bandits hits all the right notes for middle grade readers! Spectacular writing, an engaging mystery, hijinks and Home Alone vibes, and plenty of unique insectarium details make this book a must-buy!

New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery o Lindsay Currie

The Bug Bandits hits all the right notes for middle grade readers! Spectacular writing, an engaging mystery, hijinks and Home Alone vibes, and plenty of unique insectarium details make this book a must-buy!

Lindsay Currie

Liberty has a special love for animals with six or eight legs and she'll do anything to save her father's insect museum...Chapters count down the days remaining until the father meets with potential investors [and] a mystery evolves as the date of the investor meeting gets closer...young readers will enjoy unlocking the clues along with the characters. The book will surely appeal to bug lovers but I recommend you give it a shot too!

YA Books Central

2025-03-08
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 fromHome 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. (insectarium guide, author’s note)(Adventure. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews