Boy Bites Bug
Rebecca Petruck
Will didn't plan to eat a stinkbug. But when his friend Darryl called new kid Eloy Herrera a racial slur, Will did it as a diversion. Now Will is Bug Boy, and everyone is cracking up inventing insect meals for him, like French flies and maggot-aroni and fleas. Turns out eating bugs for food is a real thing called entomophagy. Deciding that means he can use a class project to feed everyone grasshoppers, Will bargains for Eloy's help in exchange for helping him with wrestling, but their growing friendship only ticks off Darryl more. Will may have bitten off more than he can chew as crickets, earthworm jerky-even a scorpion-end up on his plate, but insects are the least of his problems. When things between Darryl and Eloy heat up, Will wrestles with questions of loyalty and honor-and learns that maybe not all friendships are worth fighting for.
While researching Boy Bites Bug, Rebecca Petruck prepared and ate cricket tacos and wax worm cookies from ingredients that arrived alive - and were delicious! The earthworm jerky, however, was not. She recommends juicy sago worms instead. Yum! Petruck is also the author of Steering Toward Normal, which was an American Booksellers Indies Introduce New Voices and Kids Indie Next List pick, as well as a BCCB Best Book of the Year featured in Vanity Fair's Hollywood, the LA Times, and Christian Science Monitor. Formerly of Minnesota, Petruck now lives in the mountains of North Carolina. You may visit her online at rebeccapetruck.com.