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Belly Up

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About The Book

Twelve-year-old Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Fitzroy believes that Henry, the hippopotamus at the brand-new FunJungle, has been murdered. The zoo’s top brass claim the hippo went belly up the natural way, but Teddy and his feisty friend Summer McCraken have other ideas. Could the culprit be FunJungle’s animal-hating head of operations? Or is it FunJungle’s owner—Summer’s dad—a man who is much more concerned about money than animal welfare? The deeper Teddy and Summer dig, the more danger they’re in—because when it comes to hippo homicide, the truth can’t be caged!

About The Author

Photograph by Dashiell Gibbs
Stuart Gibbs

Stuart Gibbs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Charlie Thorne series, FunJungle series, Moon Base Alpha series, Once Upon a Tim series, and Spy School series. He has written screenplays, worked on a whole bunch of animated films, developed TV shows, been a newspaper columnist, and researched capybaras (the world’s largest rodents). Stuart lives with his family in Los Angeles. You can learn more about what he’s up to at StuartGibbs.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (May 18, 2010)
  • Length: 304 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781442406391
  • Ages: 8 - 12
  • Lexile ® 820 The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

Raves and Reviews

"Great fun....In his authorial debut, screenwriter Gibbs combines details of the inner workings of zoos with some over-the-top action for an entertaining read."

– Kirkus Reviews

Awards and Honors

  • Maud Hart Lovelace Award Nominee (MN)
  • South Carolina Picture Book Award Nominee
  • Iowa Children's Choice Award Nominee
  • Maud Hart Lovelace Award (MN)
  • Texas Lone Star Reading List
  • California Collections
  • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List (VT)
  • Mark Twain Award Final Nominee (MO)
  • Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award
  • Great Lakes Book Award

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