'DINARY THUMB AND THE PURPLE DANGER by Gilda A. Herrera

Darby Dawson, eleven, searches for a kidnapped boy, has his school overrun by seemingly crazed insects, deals with an evil substitute teacher who arrived in his hometown through a portal from another dimension, receives amazing and helpful gadgets from an unknown source, and learns of a distant relative, ’Dinary Thumb, who disappeared years ago. The elusive ’Dinary may very well be a true-life super hero with extraordinary powers and abilities, some of which Darby himself appears to be developing as he deals with the problems in this story.