Libby Lacewing

  Available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle It's late fall, and the Pick-Your-Own Apple Festival is coming to an end. The sugar cube projects created by local businesses and schools will be around for just one more night. Libby and her friends plan to visit all their favorites. But plans quickly change. Libby's grandfather puts her in charge of loading the family van with sugar cubes for the winter storehouse, and Luna's anti-gravity belt is malfunctioning sending her packing for an intergalactic trip to her home world. Libby wonders whether she'll ever see her friend Luna again. Libby puts off loading the van to find useful items for Luna's long journey. Then raccoons attack the sugar cube projects, and the farmer ships everything to the dump a day early. Libby hasn't loaded a single sugar cube for the storehouse, and Fern is swept up into the garbage truck with the one thing that might keep Luna from leaving the orchard. Or purchase all 4 chapter books in th...

  Available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle Libby has the perfect birthday surprise planned for Cara. Unlike previous year's surprises, Libby is determined this surprise will go smoothly. In fact, her two friends Maci, an aphid wasp, and Fern, a stinkbug, are coming along to help. All Libby has to do is find the right battery at the Big Tree's battery sale and return it to the shed before Cara's birthday. Easy right? But Libby's trip doesn't go exactly as planned, leaving Libby with an unusual gift and her friend Fern convinced they broke the time barrier. Or purchase all 4 chapter books in the " Meet the Bugs" Collection:

  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? Or ...

  Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle Libby Lacewing lives on an apple orchard nestled in the Midwest. She and her family help remove apple-harming, sap-sucking pests from the apple trees. As spring approaches, Libby hopes for her first real lasso so she can join the older aphid wranglers. Libby is disappointed when she gets leaf boots and a cowboy hat, but no lasso. It looks like another season of netting stragglers with the younger lacewings. Then Libby's grandfather asks her to take five aphids across Sap River. Libby is sure she's ready. But suddenly Libby's stomach is a quivery as a rattlesnake. What if she loses all the aphids? When things go wrong, Libby and her good friend cress set out to make things right.  Third Place Winner (short story version) of the 86th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition. Or purchase all 4 chapter books in the " Meet the Bugs" Collection:

Over the years Libby's story and look have changed a few times. There was our first artist Vera Pavlova with watercolor by ArtistryNH.com : Our second artist was Rue Moon with watercolor by ArtistryNH.com : But with the new AI capabilities (ChatGPT) we decided to update again. Coming soon!

"The adventures, rescues, and three-part curse have excitement and unexpected twists, such as an aphid stampede."   Kirkus Review The Curse of Sap River Featured in Kirkus Reviews When The Curse of Sap River was first released, one of the most encouraging moments for the project came when the book was reviewed by Kirkus Reviews , a publication long known for evaluating new books across the publishing world. Kirkus Reviews has been publishing professional book reviews since 1933 and is widely read by librarians, booksellers, and educators. For a small independent children’s book about orchard insects, appearing in Kirkus was a meaningful milestone. The review highlighted the unusual perspective of the story—an adventure told entirely from the viewpoint of the bugs living in an orchard ecosystem. Instead of humans observing nature, the story invites readers to step into the world beneath the leaves, where apple trees become towering landscapes and everyday orchard life tur...