The Case of the Missing Classification- coming soon!
About
Bee & Peacock Publishing is pleased to announce the release of a new middle-grade fantasy novel for children, the first installment in The Flickerlings series—adventure stories about four young boys whose emotions spring to life as sprite-like beings, transforming childhood into a wild, heartfelt, and unforgettable circus of feelings.
The book, Rusty Ruins the Fort and Other Important Things, is written and illustrated by Anna Lenoir, a storyteller and artist whose work has been embraced by therapists, educators, and emotional-wellness professionals. Through her stories, Lenoir aims to reconnect literature with storytelling’s oldest and most meaningful purpose: helping people better understand themselves and one another through emotion, moral conflict, and human behavior.
Lenoir believes that while modern literary education for students often emphasizes symbolism, structure, and literary devices, it can overlook the deeper reason stories have existed for thousands of years—to help us make sense of human emotions and the choices they inspire. With The Flickerlings, she invites children to explore those emotions in an empowering way that feels imaginative, accessible, and fun.
Rusty Ruins the Fort and Other Important Things is packed with everything young readers love: muddy disasters, runaway dogs, treasure rituals, backyard adventures, and hilarious chaos. As four friends—Ethan, Theo, Owen, and Hank—set out to build the ultimate backyard fort alongside the catastrophe-prone Rusty the dog, they are unaware they are not alone. Joining them are their Flickerlings, tiny emotional sidekicks who leap into action with every scraped knee, argument, triumph, and panic attack—bragging, overthinking, cheering, joking, worrying, and occasionally completely freaking out.
Filled with kid logic, muddy joy, and the oversized emotions of childhood, Lenoir’s story captures the intensity and wonder of being ten years old. Through a colorful cast of Flickerlings—including Accuser, Scout, Dash, Sniffle, Punster, Steady, and dozens more—the series gives children a playful language for understanding their inner emotional world.
Blending laugh-out-loud fantasy with warmth, emotional intelligence, and relatable childhood adventures, The Flickerlings series offers families, educators, and middle-grade readers an entertaining and meaningful reading experience as well as a resourceful tool. Rusty Ruins the Fort and Other Important Things is available now wherever books are sold.
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Book Details
Publication date: June 19, 2026
Title: Rusty Ruins the Fort and Other Important Things
Series: The Flickerlings Audience: Ages 7 to 11 Category: Juvenile fantasy fiction
Formats: Paperback, ebook
For media inquiries, review copies, or interview requests, please contact: Anna Lenoir
Trailer
Praise for this book
I work on a lot of middle-grade books and, specifically, a lot of social emotional learning books or those with themes that foster behavioral wellness or personal growth. I don't recall ever working with such books---for the middle-grade market---that have characters representing feelings or reactions to emotions or certain behavior characteristics. Plenty for the picture book market or even early chapter books, but none for the slightly older child. In this manner, I think that your books will be a welcome way for families, educators, and counselors to invite a dialogue and use them as a resource; or simply for that target reader to be able to identify or articulate what resonates with them but they previously were not able to pinpoint or verbalize those reactions. For this reason, I think this will distinguish your books from others in the market that approach these themes differently.