Max the Madagascan cockroach is no ordinary pet. “When most people see him, they do not talk baby talk. They do not try to pat him. Mostly they back away. Sometimes they scream.” Two brothers try to avoid a disaster when Max breaks out of his tank in their mother’s bug lab just before a fancy ceremony to rename the building. With visions of screaming reporters and a fleeing Ruby L. Gold — the building’s benefactor — the boys hunt down their beloved cockroach with the help of a mysterious older woman called One-Shot Lil. Who is she really? It’s a satisfying, not-too-surprising revelation at the end of this lively transitional reader illustrated in full color. (Ages 5–7)