#tbt: Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

Image: Simon & Schuster

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. 304 p. FunJungle #1. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, May, 2010. 9781416987314. Own.

Oops! Happy Thursday! I hope you had a terrific Fourth of July. I have been busy getting ready to take in a foster dog. She's coming tomorrow and you will definitely hear more about her in the coming days. I'm excited. Not so sure about Boo, though. He's going to have to learn to share.

#tbt features Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs is definitely a TMS favorite. His Spy School novels are constantly checked out, but did you know that he has several other series? Belly Up is book one of his FunJungle series and was his debut, publishing in 2010, two years before the publication of his first Spy School book.

Twelve-year-old Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt Fitzroy has just moved to Texas with his zoologist parents from Africa. In Africa, he was homeschooled and everyday was an adventure. At FunJungle, where his parents have just been hired? Not so much. That is, until the irrascible mascot of the theme park, Henry Hippo, turns up dead under mysterious circumstances. The list of suspects is long and Teddy is determined to find justice for Henry. The action is fast-paced and over-the-top - think, Home Alone visits an amusement park. Teddy's first-person narration is sassy and hilarious.