Beetle Bedlam

In this labored courtroom comedy, the ""court"" is the lush, leafy environs of the Goliath beetle; the defendant, a bark beetle accused of killing trees. Nine beetle witnesses bumble forward, from the click beetle, who throws himself into the air, lands on his back and plays dead, to the harlequin beetle, whose long, elegant antennae distract the Goliath beetle. Justice is served when the bark beetle agrees to take up residence only in the bark of sick or dead trees. While incorporating myriad facts, Van Kampen's (Dinosaur Days) vernacular dialogue aims at hipness but falls short, relying instead on the obvious humor of the Hercules beetle's macho stance (""These horns? Just for show. Totally bogus. But hey, don't tell my enemies, okay pal?"") or the bombardier beetle's gas (""A really big explosion. Brutal smell!""). Far more imaginative, the huge, vibrant watercolor illustrations put wild textures under a telephoto lens: filmy underwings, twiggy or plated legs, antler-like mandibles. The close perspective and shallow depth, however, make it difficult to distinguish the beetles among the mayhem of thoraxes, pincers, antennae and strange color patterns--altogether too much bedlam. A glossary details the 12 beetles featured. All ages. (Aug.)