Illustrated by Duncan Smith

Dedication

With special thanks to Mariam Vossough

To the Barnes of ‘Barnes-and-Noble’

Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Bug Facts

Copyright

About the Publisher

Introduction

Spinner’s Wood is full of sticky mud, tall trees and long grass. But most of all, it’s full of bugs! Now, some people think that bugs are pests. But they haven’t met Gonzo or the Bug Buddies – four best friends called Zap, Buzz, Lurch and Crunch. Their life would be perfect if it wasn’t for a spider called Spinner, who has eight legs and one mission: to trap the whole wood in his evil web. But you’ll soon find out that even bugs can be heroes …

Zap tingled with excitement as he hovered above the starting twig. Wizzy the horsefly was lined up next to him, buzzing.

“OK,” said Crunch, the stag beetle. “First one to Gonzo’s Rock and back wins. Ready … steady … GO!” Crunch swiped his antlers down.

The race was on!

Zap flapped his wings with all his might. Spinner’s Wood became a green blur as he sped around the rock. He may have been just a tiny weevil, but he felt as tall as a tree when he was flying.

Zap did a loop-the-loop as he soared across the finish line. He’d won! I’m the fastest bug in the wood, he thought. Maybe I’m the fastest bug ever!

Zap landed on Gonzo’s Rock. A crowd of cheering bugs crawled over to him.

“Well done,” said Crunch, patting him on the back with his claw. Buzz the ladybird nudged his way through the crowd.

“Super flying, champ,” he said. “I bet you’re up for having this party now.”

It had been Buzz’s idea to throw a party to celebrate Spinner’s disappearance. The evil spider had not been seen since he fell into a lake of honey and Zap’s friends were convinced he was gone for good. But Zap wasn’t so sure …

Buzz crawled up on to a large stone.

“OK, everyone,” he said loudly. “Time to play Guess My Spots!”

Zap smiled. This was the ladybird’s favourite game. A group of bugs gathered round. Mazie the millipede crawled forward first and looked at Buzz’s back.

“Easy!” she said. “You’ve got eight spots.”

“Buzz,” warned Zap, “stop cheating.”

The weevil pointed to a tiny speck of blackberry stuck to Buzz’s shell, which made it look like he had an extra spot! Buzz flicked his shell and caught the berry-speck in his mouth.

“I didn’t see that there,” he said, innocently chewing the berry. “Shame to waste it, though!”

Zap and Mazie laughed. Eating was his other favourite thing!

Zap’s best friend, Lurch the dung beetle, rushed over pushing a ball of poo.

“Hey, guys,” he said. “Fancy playing Pass the Dung Ball? Whoever’s holding it when the bees stop humming gets to take a bite!”

“Yuck!” said Buzz, backing away. “That’s one thing even I won’t eat.”

“And that’s one game I don’t want to win,” Zap whispered to Buzz, grinning.

Finally, the party was over. As the last guest crawled away, Gonzo, the wise old grasshopper, hopped on to his rock.

“Well, did you all have fun?” he asked.

“Lots!” said Buzz.

“It’s my lucky day,” said Lurch. “I won Pass the Dung Ball every time!”

“Thanks for letting us have the party here,” said Zap.

“You’re welcome,” replied Gonzo, smiling.

Buzz gave a big yawn. “Having fun makes me sleepy.”

Zap looked around – berries and leaves were scattered everywhere. “I think we’d better tidy up first,” he said.

Gonzo gave Zap a nod of approval.

“I’ll tidy up all the berries,” said Buzz, scuttling towards a juicy red mound.

Crunch laughed.

“Don’t you mean eat all the berries?”

“Same difference!” yelled Buzz, through a mouthful.

Zap was dragging the leaves into a pile when he noticed something thin and shiny in the bushes. Was that spider’s silk? He quickly flew over to check. Phew! It was only a stray piece of shell left over from a butterfly chrysalis.

Gonzo hopped over to him. “Stop worrying,” said the grasshopper. “Spinner’s gone.”

“How can you be sure?” asked Zap.

“We’ve searched the whole wood,” replied Gonzo. “There’s no sign of him.”

Zap nodded, feeling safer. He flew back to Gonzo’s Rock.

Once the rock was tidy, the Bug Buddies settled down for the night next to Algae Pond. Zap quickly fell asleep. He dreamt he was trying to fly, but his wings wouldn’t work and he fell into a deep hole. It was pitch black, apart from eight eyes staring at him from the darkness …

Zap woke with a start. Stop being silly, he told himself, it was just a dream. He looked up at the dark swaying trees. Was Spinner still out there somewhere?

Zap spent the morning flying around Spinner’s Wood, checking for webs. He didn’t find any, but he still had a twisty feeling in his tummy. His nerves faded when he remembered he had Beetle Ball practice today. Zap loved playing Beetle Ball – it was where he got to show off his super-speedy skills! And it was perfect for taking his mind off Spinner.

The Bug Buddies flew over to the practice field and landed next to Gonzo, who was their coach.

“OK, team,” said the grasshopper. “I’m going to teach you some new goal-scoring moves. Zap, you go first. Crunch will be goalkeeper.”

Gonzo began using his front legs to roll the grass seed ball to Zap.

He was about to knock it forward when he heard a shuffling sound behind him. He turned around to see a family of green tiger beetles enter the clearing. Each beetle was pushing a small egg in front of it, the same way Lurch pushed poo. Zap’s wings trembled – with their hard green bodies and dark eyes they looked really scary. And he knew they liked to eat weevils!

Zap stood up as tall as he could, determined not to look afraid.

The largest of the tiger beetles stood before Gonzo. “My name’s Snap,” he said. “I need to talk to you about—”

“What are you playing?” interrupted a young tiger beetle, nudging the grass seed ball with his nose. He looked at the Bug Buddies curiously.

“We were about to play Beetle Ball,” said Lurch.

“What’s Beetle Ball?” asked the young tiger beetle.

“It’s a game,” said Buzz, sounding surprised.

Lurched waved his wings. “Come on, we’ll show you,” he said.

Zap’s antennae drooped – he wasn’t sure about playing with tiger beetles. He might get eaten!

“That’s a great idea,” said Gonzo, looking straight at Zap. “It’ll help us all get to know each other.”

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