Henry is a lonely child, on holiday in his Uncle's rambling old vicarage in the country. His parents are keen on brass-rubbing and exploring old churches, but Henry dreams of adventure. Having been banished to his room , Henry pursues a strange clicking noise and finds himself in the world of the beetles. The beetles are a happy-go-lucky crowd, driven from the comfortable interior of Barraclough House by the menace of the ants. They are awaiting the coming of their saviour as written in their sacred Book of the Scarab. The ants, by contrast, are organised and threatening. They never look up from their marshalling and military drill, deep under the house. They are commanded by Denzil 942, one of the more wayward of the Queen Ant's thousands of sons. Henry is a reluctant hero, hailed by the beetles as their promised saviour. He sets off on a mission into ant territory, and by pure good fortune falls (literally) into the lap of the Queen Ant. Her motherly instincts come heavily into play to deflate the ego of Denzil 942 and restore harmony by returning the beetles to their rightful home.
Both beetles and ants have been exhaustively studied so that the characterisation is as accurate as possible!
- ISBN10 1905529058
- ISBN13 9781905529056
- Publish Date 23 April 2006
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 10 September 2010
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 96
- Language English