Mortimer Darkling lives in Wavyways Wood. Every day he leaves the wood to go to Wavyside School, where everyone is supposed to be tolerant of the strange and unusual. But when a particularly strange beetle arrives in Mortimer's classroom it isn't only the beetle that encounters prejudice. Can Mortimer and his friends avoid breaking school rules while returning the beetle to the wood? And how can the beetle be of use to the town? For readers of seven and up.