Billy the Roly Poly Bug: A Rain-Beetle Adventure

Open this story and begin to see the world through the eyes of a bug. Not just any bug but Billy the Roly-Poly Rain beetle. This fable-like tale is about the adventures of a captured beetle who saves the backyard from greedy grasshopper vandals using nothing but gentle persuasion. Billy the Roly- Poly Bug is part diplomat, part adventurer, who uses his clever speech to convince the grasshopper bullies to leave the underground for the joys of jumping and fl ying in the sky of the over-world where he has lived. Come see how the Beetle and a fast footed Podiferous the Centipede save the day! Recommended for ages 3 and up.

This story stems from a bedtime fable that I told my brothers one night when they where much younger. My mother encouraged me to publish it because the whole family loved it and asked for repeats and sequels to the story about "Billy the Rolly Polly Bug". I know that the title is a bit decieving because a scientifist may know that a "Rolly-Polly Bug" is another name for a "Sow Bug" but Sow bugs are not pretty beetles like Billy. To stay true to the story that I told I can't change the name of the Rolly Polly Bug because in this case he "Rolled" right out of the sky into Johnny's hand. I included a note about sow bugs at the end of the book. One hidden theme of the book is the way Billy the Rain Beetle handles the conflict with the Evil Grasshopper King. He uses non-violent persuasion to stand up to the bully bugs who are in this case young grasshoppers with no manners. I believe in communication before confrontation. I thought little about the story for a long time but after I illustrated the story I thought I will see if people want to buy a copy. Pretty soon I had run out of stock and had to print up more copies to sell. Then I heard form Trafford and hope to have it available soon so the rest of the world can see what my whole family has enjoyed. Currrently I live in Bozeman Montana and really enjoy writing about other characters also like Charolette the Restless Royal.