Beetles,lightly Toasted Library Book Grade 5: Harcourt School Publishers Treasury of Literature (Treasury of Literature 95y047)

Fifth-grader Andy Moller will do anything to win the Roger B. Sudermann essay contest so that he can win fifty dollars and get his picture in the local newspaper. His cousin and rival, Jack, feels exactly the same way. But how can Andy be inventive and imaginative in an essay contest on conservation?



Bugs and beetles, that's how. Leave it to Andy to think of people eating insects as a way of conserving their food budgets. Before long he's preparing toasted beetles in brownies, mealworm-filled egg salad sandwiches, and batter-fried earthworms for his friends and family. They don't know what they're in for, and neither does Andy. Will he win the contest and lose his friends and family?

Because it is offered only to fifth graders, this is Andy's one chance to enter and win the Roger B. Sudermann essay contest. Grand prize: $50 and, most important of all, Andy's name and picture in the newspaper. But unlike other years, when the topic assigned had been really exciting, this year's topic is a bummer. Andy's cousin, and rival, Jack, has no trouble getting started, but Andy doesn't know what he will do.

Then he notices a big brown beetle crawling through the grass. One thing leads to another, and before long, Andy is using Aunt Wanda's saucepans for recipes Aunt Wanda never dreamed. Just when his essay is going well, however, Andy realizes that if he does win the contest, he's in big trouble!