Trouble in Bugland: A Collection of Inspector Mantis Mysteries (Godine Storyteller)

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Summary: Trouble In Bugland
Review: A charming collection of short stories, featuring an insect world gone all Victorian, complete with its own version of Sherlock Holmes...call him Inspector Mantis. Also meet his slightly obtuse, but friendly, assistant, Doctor Hopper, who would rather cook and eat sweets than detect.

The emphasis is on action, not mystery and clues. But then, not all of the Holmes tales were intricate whodunits; so these bug stories emulate the more rough-and-tumble Holmes outings, with lots of rushing about by Inspector Mantis and his colleague, Hopper. Mantis as infiltrator, uncoverer of sinister plots against the Crown (our potential villains in Bugland are of course termites, hornets, and in one bizarre case, a headless "zombie" fly, in the collection's best most horrific, offering). Or Mantis as rescuer and savior, sometimes of beautiful insects of the fairer sex, though it is Hopper who is frequently smitten, and just as unhappy to be dragged away from pitching woo than he is to be deprived of fudge or popcorn.

I feel these stories of Inspector Mantis on the trail of vile insect crime would really appeal most to kids. The plots, and the style of writing, may seem simple to adult readers who have decided to sample anything Sherlockian they can find, no matter how odd. But it follows there is a childlike sense of fun to the whole visit to Bugland, and there's nothing to dislike here. Funnily, I will say that of all the versions of Holmes I've encountered that were not written by Conan Doyle, this Inspector Mantis has the most human frailties and, my goodness, he's a bug!

By the way, this book is jam-packed with wonderful illustrations--colour and black-and-white--and I absolutely loved all of them, especially the numerous full-page colour treats. The artist's name is Joe Servello.

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Summary: It [is not good] that it isn't in print
Review: Probably one of the greatest books i've ever read. the way Will makes a whole world of bugs come to life and the way Joe draws the bugs looks like they're real.

The collection of stories is about a Sherlock Holmes type Praying Mantis and his side-kick Dr. Hopper(a lot like watson.) Mantis likes to go on adventures and Hopper likes to cook and eat. When the detectives aren't at home they're somewhere int he bug world.

You should buy it ...

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Summary: Great mysteries!
Review: This book was excellent! IF you like the Sherlock Holmes kind of mystery stuff, than you'll love this book. I liked this book so much because it's really easy to get into. It's lots of fun to read because you can try to solve the mysteries yourself. I learned how to be observant when trying to solve problems. I also learned to never give up, even when things aren't going your way, to stick through thing till the end. I rate this book a five, on a sclae from one to five. I gave "Trouble In Bugland" such a high rating because I found that this book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I also found it very interesting how Inspector Mantis solved his mysteries so accurately and he didn't stop trying to solve them until he found a solution to them. I recommend "Trouble In Bugland" to readers who like to solve mysteries and like to pick up a book and not putr it down until the end, because you won't want to!