The Big Sting
The Big Sting
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Penguin
Annotation: A visit to Leo's grandfather's farm turns upside down when his grandmother's beehives are stolen. A light-hearted and fu... more
 
Reviews: 1
Catalog Number: #391695
Format: Perma-Bound Edition
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright Date: 2024
Edition Date: 2024 Release Date: 05/07/24
Pages: 214 pages
ISBN: Publisher: 0-7352-6932-7 Perma-Bound: 0-8000-6781-9
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-0-7352-6932-3 Perma-Bound: 978-0-8000-6781-6
Dewey: Fic
Dimensions: 21 cm
Language: English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews

A story full of mystery, adventure, and personal challenges that will have readers buzzing.Eleven-year-old Leo and his younger sister, Lizzie, are staying with their maternal grandfather on Heron Island, British Columbia, after the recent passing of their grandmother. Originally Leo's parents were also staying there, but when a booking opens at an exclusive nearby spa, Leo's city-loving father seizes the opportunity to go somewhere with reliable Wi-Fi under the pretense that the kids' mom needs to unwind from her stressful job. Leo and Lizzie stay with their grandfather, a choice that ultimately proves to be vital when the farm's 12 beehives are stolen. The hives originally belonged to Grandma, but after her death, Grandpa learned how to keep bees, and he is desperate to get them back. The trio embark on an adventure to discover the culprit, learning more about each other along the way. A subplot in which Leo is distressed about his results from an online personality test matching users with career paths that his father constantly talks about is nicely woven into the story, demonstrating how labels can limit people as well as define them. Readers who love adventure will enjoy the overall plot, but while the mystery is solved-and Delaney plays fair with the clues-the pacing will make it difficult for armchair sleuths to discover who stole the hives before the grand denouement. The overall story makes up for this minor shortcoming, however. Main characters read White.A sweetly engaging novel exploring family relationships. (Fiction. 8-12)

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Kirkus Reviews
Reading Level: 4.3
Interest Level: 4-7

A visit to Leo's grandfather's farm turns upside down when his grandmother's beehives are stolen. A light-hearted and funny middle-grade novel for fans of Rebecca Stead and Lynda Mullaly Hunt.

Eleven-year-old Leo is an "armchair adventurer." This, according to Dad, means he'd choose adventures in books or video games over real-life experiences. And while Leo hates the label, he can't argue with it. Unlike his little sister Lizzie, Leo is not a risk-taker.  

So when he, Lizzie, Mom and Dad leave the city to visit Grandpa on Heron Island, Leo finds all kinds of dangers to avoid — from the deep, dark ocean to an old barn on the verge of collapse. But nothing on the island is more fearsome than Grandpa himself — Leo has never met anyone so grumpy! According to Mom, Grandpa is still grieving the recent death of his wife, a beekeeper beloved by everyone on the island.

Despite Leo's best efforts to avoid it, adventure finds him anyway when Grandma's beehives go missing in the dead of night. Infuriated, Grandpa vows to track down the sticky-fingered thieves himself . . .  with risk-averse Leo and danger-loving Lizzie (plus a kitten named Mayhem) in tow.


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