Master storyteller Patrick Ness turns to middle grade in a hilarious adventure about a mismatched group of animals attending school together, brought to life by brilliantly funny illustrations.
Zeke and Daniel have just been made hall monitors by Principal Wombat. This has nothing to do with the fact that they are monitor lizards. And never mind the fact Alicia, the only other monitor lizard in the school, is also a hall monitor.
Somehow, the three hall monitors must impose order on arrogant lions, excitable seals and super-relaxed pandas. And worst of all, there is Pelicarnassus! A pompous giant pelican and the son of a major supervillain, who inexplicably has it out for the lizards. Can the hall monitor lizards and their new friend, a blind, fearsome red-tailed hawk, protect their school from all manner of outlandish threats?
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
September 5, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781529521009
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781529521009
- File size: 26435 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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June 24, 2024
In this sincere, absurd anthropomorphic take on middle school, a young monitor lizard finds things spiraling out of control when he accidentally antagonizes the school bully. After being appointed hall monitor (not because he’s a monitor lizard—that’s just a coincidence), Zeke runs afoul of the bellicose pelican son of an international supervillain, classmate Pelicarnassus, who vows to make Zeke regret his actions. Now Zeke and his friends—effervescent Daniel and patient Alicia, both lizards, as well as hawk Miel, who is blind—must contend with a foe capable of procuring lasers and invading France (which is located on Zeke’s knee due to a curse placed upon his “great-great-great-great (or possibly great-great-great-great-great) grandfather”). Meanwhile, Zeke’s mother navigates persistent sadness about the death of his father; her grief is depicted as a black dog that “hung around his mom like a cloud.” Using over-the-top prose, Ness (Different for Boys) details characters tackling mundane yet serious issues surrounding economic disparity, school violence, anger management, and self-image in a tale that is both deeply relatable and humorously off-kilter. Expressively goofy ink line illustrations by Miller (Izzy Paints) add whimsy and warmth. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Michelle Kass, Michelle Kass Associates. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.
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