The Monster of BogBean Swamp

By Brooklyn West

Libby and her younger cousins are helping with an overnight wrangling trip complete with campfire stories. Lars attempts to scare Libby with the story of a spore-breathing, stinkhorn-smelling swamp monster drawn to harmonica music. But Libby isn't fooled for a second. She knows there's no such thing as swamp monsters. She even plays her grandfather's harmonica to prove it. As the lacewings curl up in termite holes for some sleep, Libby's in charge of first watch. When she dozes off (just a little), she wakes to find herself underwater. Swamp water has flooded the southeast end of the apple orchard, and the swamp water has trapped Libby's grandfather and younger cousins inside the termite holes. Libby is determined to rescue them with the help of her friend Cara. But things don't go as smoothly as hoped? Did Libby accidentally call a swamp monster to the orchard? Or is there another reason behind the strange creature they encounter in her family's tree?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brooklyn West
• Release date: Jul 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005765187

Brooklyn West

Meet Libby LacewingMy name is Libby, and I'm a lacewing bug. I live on an apple orchard nestled in the Midwest where I help my family remove apple-harming, sap-sucking pests from the apple trees. Especially, aphids. Aphids are small bugs that steal nutrients from the apple buds causing them to turn brown and wither. My family and I round up the aphids and herd them to the roots.

Book preview

The Monster of Bogbean Swamp

By Brooklyn West

Illustrations and Cover by

Vera Pavlova

Watercolor by

Bill Day

Copyright, 2018 by Brooklyn West

All rights in this book are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Table of Contents

Meet Libby Lacewing

Meet Cara the Beetle

Chapter 1: Campfire Stories

Chapter 2: Catfish in the Trees

Chapter 3: The Carpenter Ant Factory

Chapter 4: Cocoon Rescue

Chapter 5: Spiders, Frogs, and Tadpoles

Chapter 6: For the Birds

Chapter 7: Finally, a Swamp Monster

Meet Libby Lacewing

My name is Libby, and I'm a lacewing bug. I live on an apple orchard nestled in the Midwest where I help my family remove apple-harming, sap-sucking pests from the apple trees. Especially, aphids. Aphids are small bugs that steal nutrients from the apple buds causing them to turn brown and wither. My family and I round up the aphids and herd them to the roots.

Meet Cara the Beetle

Cara, my best friend, is a ground beetle. She lives in an old log by the shed. She's not the best flier. Instead she uses a small plastic toy jeep to get around. Her uncle owns and runs the carnival box inside the shed, and Cara helps him create and fix the rides. Cara can fix almost any machine. She's also building her own carnival ride. It'll be the best carnival ride ever – when she finishes it.

Chapter 1: Campfire Stories

Slimy purple seaweed sprouts from its head, said Lars, standing on tiptoe. He wagged his arms in the air. The light of the campfire cast a monstrous shadow against the leaves. The kind that grows in the deepest, darkest part of the swamp. And it makes strange gurgling noises. Urggggle. Urggggle."

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