Customer Reviews

Belly Up

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Teddy Fitzroy is the precocious narrator of Stuart Gibbs' BELLY UP, a novel about a 12-year-old boy's attempts to determine the killer of FunJungle's star mascot, Henry the Hippo. Having spent the majority of his young life in the African wilds with his field biologist mother and nature photographer father, Teddy's knowledge of animal behavior and matter-of-fact delivery of nature facts, skepticism of corporate and consumer life, and naivete regarding human behavior make an inviting mix for his narrative voice. Basically, his family has been hired to help with the development of FunJungle, which Teddy describes as a mash-up of the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland, with all the attendant merchandising and corporate concerns. While his parents have been lured there to help secure the welfare of the animals, as have many of the other professionals, these interests conflict with the management of the facility, including the need to preserve good press. This situation provides Gibbs a platform to mention a wide range of social issues without turning his novel into a soapbox.

While the book contains a number of technical terms, this book should be easily accessible to kids who have read the Harry Potter books and enjoy watching JIMMY NEUTRON. Teddy's experiences have given him a broad vocabulary.

My eleven year old laughed so hard at passages of this book that he rolled off the couch. BELLY UP can be earthy and gross in places, and there are some mild oaths in a couple of places, and there are a couple of convenient coincidences, and there are a couple of two-dimensional characters, but as a whole the novel offers a fun, engaging read and will give readers a new perspective the next time they visit a zoo. I highly recommend this book, and I encourage all to read it before a film version appears, because, believe me, Hollywood will tone down a number of elements.

If Teddy Fitzroy has further adventures, I will want to check them out.

While this very enjoyable comedic mystery-thriller is marketed toward tweens, it's also a terrific read for younger children. I read Belly Up aloud to my seven year-old as bedtime reading and we both had a great time (though a few gentle swear-words had to be negotiated).

My little boy loved the adventure, and often laughed aloud at the lighter moments like the opening sequence of chimpanzees throwing water balloons at obnoxious tourists.

I was particularly gratified to see that the story doesn't follow the "Oh no we're children with a big problem but we'd better not tell any adults or we'll get in trouble" sitcom-logic so common to children's literature. Half-way through the book, in fact - slight spoiler ahead - when the main character's Mom asks him what's going on, he tells her everything. And she and his father help him with his predicament! Parents that are smart and competent and take good care of their children? While it's sad that that's a fresh thought, it nonetheless made me want to dance around the room. Very enjoyable book.

I picked this up out of curiosity because of the cover. I was expecting something rather whimiscal and light, and instead got a well written mystery just loaded with tension and excitement - perfect for the middle school crowd! This book is expertly plotted. I was intrigued throughout the entire thing, and enjoyed learning more about hippos. Okay, a lot of that stuff about hippo poop I probably didn't need to know, but it was pretty funny. The story runs along at a fast pace as we follow Teddy Fitzroy in his efforts to nail the killer of Henry, world's most beloved hippo and resident of FunJungle, the world's most awesome zoo.

Teddy is a great character that both girls and boys will identify with. He has an air of independence that kids will find appealing, as well as an innocence and naivete that kids will identify with. He's smart, confident, a bit of a rogue, and the perfect hero for this tale of adventure and mystery. He can face down a herd of wildebeests, and still gets embarrased when a girl holds his hand. What a guy. I didn't want to put it down because I was anxious to see how Teddy would piece this puzzle together.

There's some gross stuff here, so maybe this one's not for the overly squeamish. The animal autopsies and all that talk of hippo poop will not be appealing to some kids, but most will find it all delightfully gory. This author's experience lies in screenplays, and you can certainly tell. This book reads like a movie and I am sure it is destined to find plenty of fans. A big recommend, especially for mystery lovers.

So the twelve year old, minor-trouble making, son of a primatologist and a wildlife photographer teams up with the slightly older daughter of the billionaire owner of a wildlife park to figure out who killed the marquee hippo. Intrigue, danger, puppy love, and lots of hippo poop ensue, but ultimately the intrepid kids defeat the adults.

The kid-centric plot and the precociousness are silly enough from the adult perspective, but a staple of kid lit. And very well done in this book. Despite the suspension of disbelief required, I found this book to be a page turner and a fun read. Almost made me want to be young again.

There are a lot of solid animal facts buried in the text, and the plot is sound enough to keep an adult engaged. Although a lot of hippo poop is involved, the two protagonists are suitably grossed out by it, and spend a lot of time cleaning themselves.

Too much analysis misses the point of a book like this. It's good fun for the age group, with only a hint of incipient sexuality. I'm passing it on to my eight year old niece, although she's a couple of grades ahead in reading. For an average reader it might be a good at nine or ten years.

My 8 year old son and I read this together. Here's his review:

"It's such a good book you can easily get pictures in your brain of what the words are saying, basically. If you get this book, you're probably going to get really addicted to it."

And from me, the mom:

Belly Up was such an incredibly fun book to read with my son. We couldn't wait to get to it each night and he would beg me to read another chapter after we'd finish one. The twists and turns were really fun, and the colorful language really made the story come to life.

We both highly recommend this book!

That is how my 8 year old daughter, Samantha, described "Belly Up". She was so captivated by the book, she finished it in 2 days & when I asked her if she wanted to write a review on Amazon about Belly Up, she said, "I recommend Belly Up to anyone who loves mystery and adventure." I'm reading it now, too & it's great! Enjoy.

I started reading this to see if my cousins (who are between 7 and 11) would like it-- and I ended up loving it. It's a fun, mysterious, animal-friendly book. It not only keeps the reader on edge as an exciting whodunnit but also touches on deep questions of animal welfare and consumerism. The characters, both the children and the adults are touchingly real, filled with flaws and always given the chance to redeem themselves. Although it takes place in an imaginary zoo and much of the book is comedy, everything that happens feels so authentic.

I'd recommend it to both kids and adults-- everyone will get something different out of it.

First, let me say this is a great read for young teens. (The main character, Teddy, is 12.) It should particularly appeal to boys, even reluctant readers, because of all of the hippo poop and decaying-part scenarios: Henry, the cranky hippo, aims his poop at the crowds; Teddy has to risk swimming in hippo poop to solve the crime (Henry's murder); Henry's coffin plummets from a crane to the crowd, showering the crowd with decaying hippo body parts. While some readers may be too grossed out by this, it IS an essential part of the plot vs. poop for poop's sake.

The plot moves along at a rapid pace, with lots of potential suspects and exciting near misses, such as when someone sets both a snake and a tiger loose to scare Teddy off the case. (He's made of tougher stuff, of course.)

Teddy also has an interesting sidekick: the zoo owner's wealthy daughter, Summer, who, at 13, must dodge her bodyguards and the paparazzi. Their dialogue is witty and teens should get hooked in. I also liked that Teddy's parents are "good guys" who ultimately believe him and help him in his quest. All of the relationships in this book are positive. And there are a lot of great facts about animals, and the author's description makes the zoo come alive.

I also have a few reservations to share with parents and teachers. Mainly, I don't think younger readers who can handle this advanced reading level will be ready for the content on their own. For instance, instead of poop, the author uses the word crap, over and over. There is a sort of joke about a herpetologist, who studies reptiles, and herpes. I'm not ready to explain that to my 7-year-old advanced reader yet. Similarly, there is a poker metaphor or simile that I don't think children will "get." The archbishop agrees to the funeral because (Teddy speculates) he doesn't want the public to think Henry was Jewish. This sarcasm, along with info. about the war in the Congo, is clearly aimed at adults and older kids. There are also a lot of jabs about the female security guard's weight. True to Teddy's character and age probably, but not the best example of kindness for little kids.

Finally, if you read this with your child or students, can you find the big mistake? Clue: Read page 12 closely and then pages 185 and 187. What's wrong? I'll place the answer in the comments. Enjoy!

This book says it is for ages 8-12. The story is about Teddy who basically lives at the zoo with his parents and discovers Henry the Hippo, the zoo mascot, was murdered. Teddy risk life and limb to not only prove it was murder but to figure out who was responsible. I read this story to my nearly 8 year old at bedtime and he loved it and literally was jumping up and down on his bed from the excitement of the story. It also had a good amount of humor. My one problem with the book was that I was having to edit numerous words because in my house they are considered inappropriate, and some are worse than others. Here is a sample...pissed off, bastard, screw-up, giving her crap, screw that, reeked of marijuana, load of crap, kicked ass, and various other iterations of these words. I am certainly glad I just didn't turn the book over to my son to read! Call me a prude, but I thought there was zero need for thses types of words in a children's book. How about saying load of bologna, ticked off, kicked butt, forget that, .....you get the idea. So overall the story was exciting, well written, and truely entertaining, but the language was a bit out of line for the 8-12 age range, as far as I am concerned. I would have given it 5 stars if not for the language.

I got this for my tweens to read, but I myself can't put it down. It is very well written as a fun mystery which keeps you guessing while interlacing the story line with educational elements on zoology.