Catch the Reading Bug

Booklists
Great lists of buggy books you might want to read this summer to help you Catch the Reading Bug! Click on a title to see it in the library catalog.

Buggy Fiction Books

CITY IN THE CLOUDS
by Tony Abbott
When Neal turns into a giant bug, Eric, Julie, and Princess Keeah must race against time to find the cure on the mystical City in the Clouds before it disappears for an entire year.

HARRY THE POISONOUS CENTIPEDE GOES TO SEA
by Lynne Reid Banks
The adventures of Harry and George, two young poisonous centipedes, as they travel across the sea to a mysterious new land filled with dangerous hoo-mins.

MAGIC BY THE BOOK
by Nina Bernstein
After returning from a trip to the library, eleven-year-old Anne and her younger brother and sister discover a magic book which sends them on adventures in which they meet Robin Hood, giant bugs, and a dark, sinister man with a wolfish face.

THE BUNDLE AT BLACKTHORPE HEATH
by Mark Copeland
Twelve-year-old Art, with the help of a ladybug named Rufus, uncovers a fly's plot to ruin his family's traveling insect circus.

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH
by Roald Dahl
A young boy escapes from two wicked aunts and embarks on a series of adventures with six giant insects he meets inside a giant peach.

BIRDBRAIN AMOS
by Michael Delaney
When Amos the hippopotamus advertises for a bird to help him with his bug problem, the tick bird who answers his ad creates a different set of problems for him by building a nest on Amos's head.

THE TRANSMOGRIFICATION OF ROSCOE WIZZLE
by David Elliott
After eating constantly at the fast food restaurant known as Gussy's, ten-year-old Roscoe finds himself turning into a giant bug.

THE FIRE BUG CONNECTION: AN ECOLOGICAL MYSTERY
by Jean Craighead George
Twelve-year-old Maggie receives European fire bugs for her birthday, but when they fail to metamorphose and grow grossly large and explode instead, she uses scientific reasoning to determine the cause of their strange death.

BUG IN A RUG
by Jamie Gilson
Seven-year-old Richard is self-conscious when he receives a pair of purple pants from his aunt and uncle and has to wear them to school, but he is even more worried when his uncle shows up for a visit to his classroom.

GOTCHA!
by Jamie Gilson
While trying to learn about spiders in Mrs. Zookey's class, Richard becomes the target of Patrick the Pest's pranks.

WITH THE BATS
by J. C Greenburg
When Andrew and Judy, still the size of beetles, are carried into a cave, they learn more than they ever wanted to know about the bats and bugs that live there from Thudd the Robot--and personal experience.

SHOEBAG
by Mary James
Shoebag, a happy young cockroach who finds himself suddenly changed into a little boy, changes the lives of those around him before returning to his former life as an insect.

SHOEBAG RETURNS
by Mary James
Shoebag, a cockroach with magical powers, changes himself into a boy to aid lonely Stanley Sweetsong, the only boy in Miss Rattray's School for Girls.

THE LIGHTNING BUGS
by Patrick Jennings
Ike feels bad about not saying anything to neighborhood bully Dave when Dave insists on killing lightning bugs to separate their glowing parts from their bodies to make "lightning rings" for the other children's fingers.

HORRIBLE HARRY BUGS THE THREE BEARS
by Suzy Kline
Harry incorporates his fascination with earwigs into Miss Mackle's class project of acting out a fairy tale in front of the other third graders.

REGARDING THE BEES
by Kate Klise
While corresponding with their globetrotting substitute teacher, the seventh graders at Geyser Creek Middle School nervously prepare for an important standardized test, navigate the tricky waters of first crushes, and try to bring their bee mascot to a local spelling competition.

A HOUSE INSIDE OUT
by Penelope Lively
Relates the adventures of a variety of creatures--mice, spiders, pill bugs--that live, seen and unseen, in the nooks and crannies of an ordinary house.

BALLET BUG
by Christine McDonnell
When Bea becomes interested in ballet, she starts taking classes, auditions for The Nutcracker, and makes a new best friend, but also must cope with some nasty classmates and a possible conflict between playing hockey and dancing.

AMELIA’S ITCHY-TWITCHY, LOVEY-DOVEY SUMMER AT CAMP MOSQUITO
by Marissa Moss
Despite the hard mattresses, biting bugs, and exhausting hikes, Amelia finally begins to enjoy her time at sleepaway camp. But when she gets her first serious crush on a boy named Luke, Amelia is stunned to find out her friend likes him too. Amelia must find a way to win his heart without losing her new best friend.

THE MYSTERIES OF SPIDER KANE
by Mary Pope Osborne
Spider Kane solves two mysteries with the help of his insect friends and co-workers.

SPIDER KANE AND THE MYSTERY AT JUMBO NIGHTCRAWLER’S
by Mary Pope Osborne
Lieutenant Leon Leafwing and Detective Spider Kane investigate the mysterious disappearance of Leon's mother and members of the Order of the Moth.

SPIDER KANE AND THE MYSTERY UNDER THE MAY-APPLE
by Mary Pope Osborne
With the help of a spider, a moth, and two ladybug friends, a young butterfly tries to uncover the mystery involving a gossamer-winged butterfly with whom he has fallen in love.

IRON INSECTS INVADE INDIANA
by Johnathan Rand
Travis Kramer and Mandy McKinley discover thousands of iron insects about to descend upon the city of Elkhart, Indiana.

NEBRASKA NIGHTCRAWLERS
by Johnathan Rand
Jim Newkirk makes money selling nightcrawlers to fishermen, but his business is about to become terrifying, when giant nightcrawlers suddenly appear and they are hungry.

SINISTER SPIDERS OF SAGINAW
by Johnathan Rand
Leah, Conner, and Angela have a plan to save the city of Saginaw from the spiders.

HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS
by Thomas Rockwell
Two boys set out to prove that worms can make a delicious meal.

THE CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE
by George Selden
The adventures of a country cricket who unintentionally arrives in New York and is befriended by Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat.

BUG MULDOON: THE GARDEN OF FEAR
by Paul Shipton
Something strange is going on in the garden and Bug Muldoon, beetle private investigator, tries to figure out how the ants and the wasps are involved.

BUG BOY
by Carol Sonenklar
When someone anonymously gives bug lover Charlie a device called the Amazing Bug-A-View, he uses it to transform himself into a spider, a grasshopper, and a fly.

GO EAT WORMS!
by R. L Stine
Todd is obsessed with worms and keeps a worm farm in his basement, but after he cuts a worm in half worms start showing up in the worst places--in his bed, in his homework, and even in his food.

101 WAYS TO BUG YOUR TEACHER
by Lee Wardlaw
Steve "Sneeze" Wyatt attempts to thwart his parents' plan to have him skip eighth grade, but he has bigger problems when his friends disapprove of his new list and Mrs. "Fierce" Pierce threatens to keep him from the Invention Convention.

CHARLOTTE’S WEB
by E. B White
Wilbur, the pig, is desolate when he discovers that he is destined to be the farmer's Christmas dinner until his spider friend, Charlotte decides to help him.

BEANY GOES TO CAMP
by Susan Wojciechowski
Beany definitely does not want to spend her summer vacation at camp, but she endures bugs and a bossy cabin-mate, finds a new friend, and has an okay time after all.

COCKROACH COOTIES
by Laurence Yep
Teddy and his little brother Bobby devise strategies using bugs to defeat the school bully.

DON’T BUG ME!
by Pam Zollman
When Megan must collect twenty-five insects for a school project, her little brother's interference and a classmate's teasing make the task difficult, and reveal that she does not know either of them as well as she thought.

Buggy Nonfiction Books

GUT-EATING BUGS
by Danielle Denega
Describes how forensic entomologists can use bugs to determine the time of death in criminal investigations.

BLOOD SUCKERS
by John DiConsiglio
A pesky mosquito lands on your arm and drinks some of your blood. It leaves behind an itchy bump, but if that's all it leaves behind, you should be happy. Every year, mosquitoes infect millions of people with deadly diseases!

BUGS UP CLOSE
by Diane Swanson
A fly magnified to the size of a man's shoe, the lenses in a dragonfly's eyes, the hair on a bee's legs and much more.

DON'T SQUASH THAT BUG
by Natalie Rompella
Cool facts about insects, our creepy, crawly, useful, and essential neighbors.

BUG JOKES
by Pam Rosenberg
Presents a collection of jokes and riddles about bugs, including "What's an insect's favorite game? Cricket."