What an absolutely lovely and heartwarming story of friends coming together to help each other in their time of need. Liberty Jacobs and her dad live above their insectarium in Philadelphia, PA. When her dad needs to meet with an investor to help secure the future of the museum, not everyone is on board with the plan. Liberty, with the help of her best friend Emmy and her newest friend, Cam, discover that there is a plot to rob the insectarium a few days before the meeting with the investor. The creative kids find a way an ingenious way to help to figure out who is behind the plot.
As a long time fan of Chasing Vermeer and A Night at the Museum, this book was right up my alley. The kids were well written and capable and each had a uniqueness to them that many middle grade students could relate to: Liberty could relate much better to insects than kids at her school, Emmy had moved to Florida and was a chess whiz, and Cam struggled to find a balance with his love of art and playing sports. The adults had secondary roles and filled in where they should. Any fan of museums, zoos, insectariums, and mysteries, will devour this book as I did. I wish I was still teaching as this would be a fantastic real aloud in my STEM classroom.

#BugBandits #middlegrade
Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jenni Walsh (author of MG historical fiction Operation: Happy, Over & Out, I am Defiance, By the Light of Fireflies and more) branches out into a slightly different genre with this loosely based on fact, realistic fiction for grades 4-7.

Liberty and her father live above the Insectarium, a Philadelphia museum focused on insects including a butterfly atrium and many other live specimen exhibits, a place that is both home and a shared passion for the two. Finances are tight and with a disease wiping out some of their insect population, a meeting with possible investors has become critically important or the museum may close, leaving both of them without purpose or a place to live. The tension is high, made worse for Liberty with her best and nearly only friend Emmy living in Florida and only daily FaceTime calls to keep them connected. Liberty is a planner and with a well-thought out proposal to start up a butterfly release at home program hopes she can add an extra component that helps to wow potential investors. An overheard conversation leads to suspicions of a burglary that would certainly scare off those who might ordinary support the Insectarium and prompts Emmy to team up with Cam, a classmate who has been sprucing up some of the museum’s murals and discovered the magic of the exhibits, in order to catch the burglars in the act and thwart plans that would ruin everything.

Liberty/Libs is a strong, intelligent middle schooler who has her own style and interests and is almost content with being unashamedly herself. She does miss having friends and worries that distance is going to damage her closeness to Emmy. Cam is popular and an athlete who is trying to keep his love of art a secret from parents he is sure will disapprove. Readers will relate to many of those feelings and some will connect to the Liberty’s single parent home. Regardless of connections to the main characters, the Home Alone-like plan the duo creates in order to get the evidence needed to reveal the thieves will keep all engaged and possibly thinking up their own tricks to slow down sneaky criminals.

Highly recommend this one for middle grade libraries and see it as an excellent read aloud choice for those in the targeted age range and slightly younger. ELA teachers will find plenty of opportunities for character study, prediction with evidence to support those hypotheses, cause & effect as well as passages providing such vivid descriptions of exhibits suitable for examples of excellent writing. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and violence.

This book is so fun! I learned so much about bugs, but in an entertaining way! I love that the story is inspired by true events. You are going to love Liberty and her friends!

THE BUG BANDITS – by Jenni L. Walsh

‘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…’

Me Heart!! Oh, I love this book! THE BUG BANDIT is a heartwarming, intense read I know kids young and old are going to love too.

Even at a smidge over middle age, there are several things I learned about Insects and Reptiles that I did not have a clue about until I read this Book.

For example: Did you know that cicadas are the only Insects that sweat???

I, for one, did not! My sweat is sweating just thinking about it. That, and the blink of Spring we Californians are experiencing before the dreaded rays of Summer blast our retinas.

Okay, that was a little dramatic, but seriously…Pre-order This Book!

Highly Recommend!

Scheduled For Release: May 6, 2025 (Though Subject To Change)

Reading Age: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 4 - 6

Thank you, NetGalley and Zonderkidz Books, for providing me with an eBook of THE BUG BANDITS at the request of an honest review.

Liberty, a fifth grader, lives with her father in an insect zoo or insectarium. It is an old house where they live on the 3rd floor and run the business on the other floors. She loves bugs but her enthusiasm causes some teasing in her school and they call her the "Bug Girl". Nevertheless, she is passionate about helping her dad keep the insectarium open despite their cash problems. She has even dreamed up a butterfly business to help support them. One day, her friend overhears someone planning to rob their place. The police are put on watch for a few days but nothing happens. Liberty and her friends have no choice but to thwart the thieves alone. Using techniques from the movie "Home Alone" and bug survival maneuvers they create traps for the thieves.

This is an action and adventure type of mystery story. There are plenty of insect facts and it seems like a very unique place to live. It would be fun to see this book as a series. It is short and should appeal to many kids.

Even though ZonderKiz published this book, there is no faith content in the book. It is just a great choice for any younger middle-grade reader.

THE BUG BANDITS is an engaging story full of great characters. If that’s not convincing enough, the story is a mystery set in a museum and is currently my top MG contemporary read this year.

Liberty Jacobs lives with her Dad on the top floor of at Walnut Street Insectorium, the museum he owns in Philadelphia. Liberty loves it there as she is surrounded by butterflies, geckos, and other unique insects.

The not so good parts of her life include no mom, her best friend Emma moved to Florida, and the kids at school call her “Bug Girl.” The worst might be that Dad is afraid of losing the museum since financially it is not doing well. He has an upcoming meeting with some investors who could help turns it around.

Liberty believes a burglar is going to steal many of the rare insects. If that happens the investors will likely decline to help. When the police don’t believer her and Dad is out of town, Liberty, distant Emma, and new friend Cam come up with a “Home Alone” type plan to stop the bad guys or gals.

The first person narration is spot on and relates not only to Liberty’s anxiety about what may happen, but also dives deeper into her personality. The writing flows and you can’t put it down given the mystery of who the burglars might be. I kept guessing and re-guessing. The other character, Cam, is a popular athlete at school but connects with the museum when he agrees to do some artwork, his secret passion.

Insect lovers will love THE BUG BANDITS as will anyone else looking for a memorable MG read. Highly recommended!

FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: THE BUG BANDITS by Jenni L. Walsh

1. Having a distant friend is quite common so there are daily phone calls and sadness about not being close together anymore. The depiction works as does the help Emma provides via long distant calls to help thwart the robbery. You’ll visualize everything as it happens.
2. Home Alone is such a long standing holiday favorite for families. Kevin’s plan from that movie helps Liberty and Cam come up with their own defense and it has some amusing results. Even if you haven’t see the movie, you will be searching for it after reading The Bug Bandits.
3. It was nice to see track star Cam and his popularity connect with Liberty, who seems the exact opposite. Their friendship was a highlight of the story.
4. The opening pages has a guide to what animals visitors will find at the museum. Details within the text of the plot reveal many interesting facts that will have you saying “I didn’t know that!”
5. The author based the concept on a real bug heist in Philly that brings even more believability to the plot.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the advance copy.

A heartwarming middle grade mystery inspired by TRUE events!

This will be an immediate add to my 5th grade classroom library! Inspired by a 2018 insectarium robbery in Philadelphia, The Bug Bandit centers around Liberty, a bug enthusiast, who overhears a plot to rob her father’s insectarium. She and her friends embark on a mission to stop the burglary from happening. I found Liberty and Cam’s friendship really endearing and immediately thought about how much my 5th graders would be able to relate to the two of them. The book was a well paced story perfect for middle grade readers who want a book full of mystery, adventure, and friendship. Readers will love unraveling the heist and trying to solve the mystery alongside the characters in the book.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars.

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. A clever story telling with a great plot story.

I throughly enjoyed this middle grade mystery. This encompasses intrigue mixed with bugs and new knowledge while also encasing platonic friendships and clever / creative ways to pull a fast one when it comes to saving what you love. I’ll definitely be purchasing this for my classroom come pub day. Thank you NetGalley for the early access to this quick read.

I feel a real affinity for Liberty, who loves bugs, beetles and butterflies. Descriptions of the insects and their behaviour is accurate, which only increased my overall enjoyment! Being seen as a little different among her peers shows how lonely Liberty could be, especially as her best friend has moved away, but there is an excellent theme of friendship in different turn throughout the story.

Based on a real life insectarium robbery, along with Home Alone references, this was a smart, pacy page turner and I became really invested in both the characters and events.

An enjoyable action-packed mystery that will grip readers and have them rooting for the good guys and marvelling at their ingenuity.

Liberty Jacobs lives with her dad at an insect museum which he runs. She knows all about the critters and is assisting her father in trying to get an investor to help so that they don’t lose their livelihood. When She overhears what she believes is going to be a robbery at the museum, she devises a plan with her friends to stop them from stealing their most valuable specimens.

You don’t have to be a bug lover to enjoy this middle grade adventure. The Home Alone antics make it all the more fun. This is a entertaining mystery for all readers.

Jenni L. Walsh does it again! The Bug Bandits is equal parts mystery, adventure, and . . . bug facts! I loved learning so much about various insects and the insectarium setting is brilliantly unique. Toss in the Home Alone vibes and this book is a winner!

I really liked Jenni Walsh's "The Bug Bandits" in a lot of ways. I liked the characters' relationships with each other, especially between the main girl and the boy. I loved the lighthearted tone. I appreciated the informative science facts that stayed within the lanes of the story.

Unfortunately, there were just too many white lies in this story for me to recommend it. I get that there's no adventure or story unless the kids somehow sneak around by themselves. That's fine. The lies were eventually addressed toward the end, but there were no consequences.

Even then, there was one last little white lie presented on the last couple pages that goes unchecked. I'm all for surprising people with secret plans; I get it. Kids are going to sneak off and tell stories from time to time; I get that too. But it seemed like there was an overemphasis on teaching kids that lying is okay, that it's part of life, and that they'll get away with it as long as the ends justify the means. It shouldn't have been a big red flag, but the author drew too much attention to it, even going as far as calling them "little white lies." It's a shame, because the rest of this book was very cute, engaging, and likable.

There were a couple lazy moments as well. Some of the "Home Alone" booby traps were not set up well in the writing, keeping the reader from fully appreciating the traps as they unfolded. It was like "and by the way, the kids had set a cicada alarm beforehand. Now watch it go off."

The worst for me were these stink bombs, which were never fully described in a book chock-full of very specific descriptions. They are described only as being made from things lying around the house that explode, but we are never told what they are made of or what they do. Flour in baggies? Solo cups of cereal? We will never know.

My kids absolutely loved this! It held their attention the entire time and they couldn’t wait to continue to read on.

What worked:
Liberty has a special love for animals with six or eight legs and she’ll do anything to save her father’s insect museum. She doesn’t mind being called Bug Girl although she’s learned not to advertise her unusual interest in school. She feels a bit alone this school year since her best friend moved to Florida although she video chats with Emmy every day at 5:00. Later, the most popular boy in school begins working for Liberty’s father but he’s keeping a secret from his parents. Liberty has full access to all areas of the museum as she helps to care for the insects, spiders, and lizards living among the various rooms and floors of the building. She has a special love for these creatures and she can’t imagine losing them.
Drama surrounds the museum’s survival as it’s still trying to recover from the deaths of valuable insects. Chapters count down the days remaining until the father meets with potential investors; later chapters count down to a possible robbery. Liberty gets an idea to begin a butterfly release program that should be sustainable and help raise money for the insectarium. However, she must pitch the concept to her father and await his approval or rejection. Emmy inadvertently hears voices one day and shares what she hears with Liberty. This moment transforms the plot into a mystery as the girls suspect something nefarious will occur. The police are skeptical of the girls’ story and it eventually becomes clear the girls will need to take matters into their own hands.
Bug lovers will enjoy this book as it’s packed full of buggy information. Liberty talks about different butterflies but focuses more on the pipevine swallowtails she’d like to use for her release program. The museum has a popular turtle named Franklin. A green iguana frightens Cam so Liberty shares facts about why Kermit is harmless. Stag beetles, pink katydids, and rare tarantulas are the most valuable exhibits in the museum. The plot builds to a climax where Liberty takes hints from defense mechanisms found in the bug kingdom. This is the part of the book where the characters are inspired by Kevin McCallister in the movie “Home Alone”.
What didn’t work as well:
Readers learn a little bit about the characters but there isn’t much depth to them. We hear about Liberty’s past issues with classmates but what’s happening now? It’s surprising when the epilogue takes place at her school, on the last day before summer break. Readers know Cam wants to explore his talents in art and readers, along with Liberty, are under the impression he’s being pressured by his parents to play sports. His decision later in the book would make more sense if readers had more information about Cam’s situation.
The final verdict:
Although many readers may not share Liberty’s interest in insects and small creatures, her passion for them is contagious. A mystery evolves as the date of the investor meeting gets closer and 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!

I love finding books that I can hand to my students and know that they are going to enjoy reading.
This story is the perfect mix of struggle, friendship, and fun facts for my 5-6 class.
Thank you, NetGallery for the ARC. This one will definitely be added to my shelves!

The Bug Bandits was fantastic. Jenni L Walsh did her research in this based on a true bug heist! Young and old will love to read this story while learning quirky and fun bug knowledge along the way. Kids can identify with the main character as she navigates her way through concern for her father's incectorium and her own dream's survival when a bug heist threatens everything.

Looking forward to reading more young adult novels from Jenni Walsh!

Thank you to netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

Wonderfully fun children’s stopping a heist story. Lots of humour, a menagerie of animals, and entertaining kids as the main characters. As publicised Home-Alone meets A Night in the museum. Shortish, easy read book. Will keep all kids quietly entertained, except for their laughs. Thank you to Zonderkidz-Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine.

This was such a strong concept for a children’s fiction novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed about the description. The characters worked in this museum and enjoyed the heist element in this. Jenni L Walsh was able to create a strong story and hope there is more in this series.