Poached.

Gibbs, Stuart.  Poached.  Simon & Schuster  2014      330p  $15.99  ISBN 978-1-4424-67774  elem/ms    Mystery/Detective   E-BN         

Teddy is in middle school and is one of those students who is frequently picked on.  He lives at FunJungle where his parents work.  At the park, Teddy seems always to be involved when something bad happens.  He is the prime suspect when the koala is kidnapped.  Some of the chase scenes between Teddy and the park security read like Keystone Cops.  Absolutely hilarious.  Teddy has trouble walking the thin line between investigating the disappearance, which he feels he needs to do, and staying out of more trouble, which he has been ordered to do.

This story is humor at its best: believable situations where the humor just gets deeper and deeper.  Teddy finds himself in hilarious chases by Large Marge, chief of park security, and her staff.  The other characters who supply humorous incidents are the bullies at school.  They are quite stereotypical, but well portrayed.  Boys and girls will thoroughly enjoy the humor that surrounds this mystery.  This is an excellent purchase for upper-elementary grades through middle school.         

Summary: Teddy solves the mystery of a kidnapped koala at a wildlife park where he lives.  He is the prime suspect because he is caught on camera leaving the enclosure, but he did not do it.  Very funny sequences.  Grades 4 up.

Zoos-Fiction, Humor                                         --Joan Theal

Still Life (series Tune: Book 2).

Kim, Derek Kirk.  Still Life (series Tune: Book 2).  Macmillan/First Second  2013  201p.  $16.99  ISBN 978-1-5964-3760-9  hs/adult  Graphic novel  VG-BN     

Andy Go is an artist who can’t find a job.  He decides to accept what he believes to be a one-year offer to live in an alien zoo.  Andy soon realizes that he was tricked into signing a life-long contract. He can’t see the other exhibits in the zoo, but speaks to his neighbor through a vent.  The zoo decides it is time to bring a female into the exhibit, and Andy convinces them to get the girl with whom he is in love.  The graphic novel is humorous and will appeal to high-school students.  Andy, who is in his early twenties, makes some references that many teens may not understand, such as to Bill Hicks and Curb Your Enthusiasm. There are a few brief mentions of sex and virginity, but overall the language is relatively tame.  This is book two in the Tune series, and while it was easy to follow the story, it would be helpful to read this series in order.       

Humor, Zoos-Fiction, Science fiction            --Stephanie Pennucci

Latham, Irene. Don’t Feed the Boy.

Latham, Irene.    Don’t Feed the Boy.     Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press      2012  282p  $15.99  978-1-59643-755-5      elm/ms  Realistic Fiction     VG-BN

The child of zoo-workers, Whit has never left the confines of their protected environment.  All he wants is to escape and experience what he deems to be real life.  He meets Stella, a young girl who experiences real life, which is not so pleasant, and who is trying to escape her circumstances as well. 

Whit and Stella meet under bizarre circumstances one day at the zoo!  Young Whit has no friends except for the workers and animals with whom he resides and, overly protected by his parents, no freedom to leave the zoo.  On the other hand, Stella has all of the freedom afforded a young girl who lives close enough to the zoo to visit it every day.  What makes her visits so unusual is the fact that she is escaping a family situation that is threatening and stifling.  After being injured in a work accident, her father has become addicted to pain medications, and he presents a danger to his family!  He is abusive, and Stella needs the zoo to survive.  Stella’s skills as an artist draw Whit in, and his knowledge and free rein around the zoo draw Stella in.  Their friendship is forged when Stella helps Whit leave the zoo one day, and he experiences his first taste of freedom! 

Young readers will learn lots of information about zoo life, become actively involved in the day-to-day activities at the zoo, and watch a friendship grow.  When Millie, the most popular elephant, dies, the falling action begins, and everything comes to a head when Whit believes Stella to have perished in a barn fire!  The resolution might not satisfy all young readers, but it is meaningful and thought-provoking. 

Friendship – Fiction, Zoos - Fiction                    --Martha Squaresky