Belly Up, by Stuart Gibbs (Simon and Schuster, 2010, 294 pages, $6.99, ages 8+)
“No one tried to kill me during the night and the next day passed uneventfully.” (p. 181)
Unfortunately that is not the opening sentence: if it was, this book would be a thriller indeed. Instead, it is nearly the best kids’ book written. Only Stuart Gibbs’ later masterpieces top Belly Up! (Gibbs also authored the Spy School series*.)
Every Paragraph is a Delight!
I have read and reviewed a book by Stuart Gibbs before (OK, several times previously) but had forgotten just how wonderful his books are, even for adults!
For kids, the fast-pace, the middle-school pranks and budding romance, the absolutely true family life keep them reading. For adults, just add some delightful twists on words and a circuitous plot to keep them reading – almost in one sitting!
It’s Harder for a Kid to Solve a Murder
“When you’re a kid, everyone’s naturally suspicious of you. . . if an adult acts like they belong somewhere, more often than not, no one gives them a second glance. As a kid, you stick out. There are plenty of places you’re not supposed to go. There are plenty of questions you can’t get away with asking. It’s very hard to be taken seriously when everyone’s wondering where your mother is.” (p. 221)
To Set the Stage
"I should have stayed in the soap division. There's no PR emergencies with soap. Soap never tries to kill anyone. The trouble with animals is, they don't know how to behave themselves. They escape. They die. They try to make baby animals. . . . " (p. 211)
Theodore Roosevelt “Teddy” Fitzroy spent the first years of his 12-year-old life living in Africa: his mother is a famous primate researcher and his father, a photographer. Now they have moved to Nowhere, Texas, to live and work on the grounds of the new FunJungle, a zoo and theme park. Teddy is the only kid in 30 miles and thinks the world’s most famous animal, Henry the Hippo, was murdered (this was before the lovely and lovable Fiona the Hippo was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2017).
Theodore Roosevelt “Teddy” Fitzroy spent the first years of his 12-year-old life living in Africa: his mother is a famous primate researcher and his father, a photographer. Now they have moved to Nowhere, Texas, to live and work on the grounds of the new FunJungle, a zoo and theme park. Teddy is the only kid in 30 miles and thinks the world’s most famous animal, Henry the Hippo, was murdered (this was before the lovely and lovable Fiona the Hippo was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2017).
Henry meets Summer, the only 13-year-old daughter of JJ McCracken who created, designed and financed Fun Jungle and a world-famous model. But Summer, even always wearing pink accompanied everywhere by two beefy bodyguards and myriads of paparazzi, has a good head on her shoulders.
Mix in one black mamba snake, escaped of course, plus one hungry tiger and what do you get? A book that kids and even adults simply can’t put down. The first in a series of intriguing plots and real-life characters you will actually like!
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Caveat: This book was purchased for review.
*Books in the FunJungle series include the following:
1. Belly Up
3. Big Game
4. Panda-monium
5. Lion Down
6. Tyrannosaurus Wrecks
Books in the Spy School series include the following:
1. Spy School
2. Spy Camp
3. Evil Spy School
4. Spy Ski School
5. Spy School Secret Service
6. Spy School Goes South
7. Spy School British Invasion
8. Spy School Revolution
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