Roger
Mantis by Tom Alan Brosz
Publication
Date: April 2, 2019
Publisher:
Tantrum Books
Baseball
is Roger McGillicutty’s whole life. That is until he wakes one Saturday to find
he is no longer a normal eleven-year-old boy. He's a five-foot-tall praying
mantis.
Roger
has school on Monday, the carnival comes to town next week, and his baseball
team is poised to play their biggest rival in one week. Being a giant bug will
seriously cramp Roger’s style!
To
Roger’s surprise, his parents and friends are supportive. Even his dog isn’t
spooked. But not everyone’s thrilled about Roger’s change. Some people are
frightened and others would like nothing more than to squash him into the
ground like the bug he is.
And
when Little League officials oust Roger from baseball, his world collapses.
When a reporter from the city comes snooping
around rumors of a man-sized baseball-playing praying mantis, Roger must choose
between hiding his true self or being the hero he's always wanted to be.
Excerpt
Marlene
figured out how to attach Roger’s old baseball glove to the end of his left
claw. “Your forearm part is called a ‘femur,’” she said, pointing to Roger’s
arm. “The sharp claw part that pinches against the femur is called the ‘tibia.’
This finger-thing coming out the end is called a ‘tarsus.’ Two of them are
called ‘tarsi.’”
Roger
wiggled his tarsi. “They still feel like fingers to me.”
“This is all so fascinating,” said Jerry,
yawning deliberately.