I recently read Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. I think the book is called Belly Up because when the hippo died, his belly went up. The main character’s name is Teddy Fitzroy who is twelve years old, mischievous and smart. The story takes place at a big zoo called Funjungle which has a mascot named Henry the Hippo. The main problem of the story is that Henry the Hippo suddenly dies, and Teddy tries to figure out who killed the hippopotamus or how he died. The plot is complicated. The action moves around a lot because there is so much going on in the book. Many things pop up in your face as you read the book to make you keep reading.

As you read the book, it might not make sense immediately, so you have to be patient to to understand the story. Funjungle is a big zoo that has unique areas for different kinds of animals. For example, there is Hippo River, Reptile World and Carnivore Canyon (not open yet). Teddy has to go through all these areas to find evidence of how the hippopotamus died. When Teddy is in Reptile World, he searches for clues and someone sets out a poisonous snake to scare him off. For example, on page 122 the book says, “I rounded a stand of fake trees and something lunged at me.” They did this to make sure that Teddy didn’t get any information about the person who killed Henry the Hippo. When a girl named Summer Mcracken (the park owner’s daughter) comes into the story, she becomes friends with Teddy and wants to find out more about the death of Henry. Because she’s the park owner’s daughter, she has the power to help Teddy get into places that will give him more clues. This will eventually lead him to who killed Henry the Hippo.

The first reason I like the book is because of the mystery. My favorite part of the book is when Teddy sneaks into the autopsy, (it means to cut an animal open and see how it died.) He almost gets caught by the two sneaky characters, Doc and Martin (who is the businessman,) who are doing the autopsy. The second reason I like the book is because it’s humorous. For example, once Teddy and Summer go swimming in the hippo pool full of poop. Finally, I like all the characters because they all have different personalities. Summer is funny and Teddy is mischievous. For example, Teddy gave the monkeys water balloons and the monkeys threw them at tourists.

I liked this book and rate it 4½ stars out of 5 stars. I really liked this book because I was constantly asking myself what was going to happen next. Will Teddy also go belly up?

The book I read recently is called Spy School by Stuart Gibbs. The book is about a kid named Ben Ripley who gets recruited to Spy School.  Ben is really smart. “I didn’t even have to think about it, I have a gift for mathematics” said Ben. Ben’s file says that he created something called pinwheel and an evil company wants whatever pinwheel is. The book takes place at Spy School, modern times. The school has modern technology, and better security than a lot of places. It has something like 400 security cameras all over campus. It is in Washington D.C.

Ben makes a new friend, Murray Hill. Murray is not his best friend at Spy School, but they have lunch and some classes together. But Ben considers Murray his friend. Murray has a secret he will not tell Ben. You’ll find out more later on in the book. The main problem in the book is that there is a mole from an evil company who is trying to capture Ben. My favorite part of the book is when Ben jabs a taser into a keypad and the electricity goes out. The reason he had to do that was because someone was coming for him and he didn’t want them to see him. I think the book was written very well.

I recommend this book to people that like action, mystery and adventure. I enjoyed this book it was really good because like. I rate it 6****** out of 5*****.

If you want to get the book click on the link below

http://stuartgibbs.com/books/

The Vanishing Coin, by Kate Egan, Eric Wight, and magician Mike Lane is about a kid named Mike who prefers to do magic tricks instead of his homework. In his own words he’s not so smart because it takes him a while to finish his homework.

The settings of the book are the school, his house, Nora’s house, and the White Rabbit. The White Rabbit is an antique store but when Nora and Mike go to the back of the store they find out that it is also a magic store. Nora is a girl that moved next door to Mike. Mike thinks she’s amazing because she is very very smart.

Mike always ends up in the principal’s office, at least once a week. The reason he gets in the principal’s office is because he can’t sit still. Mike’s enemy’s name is Jackson, Jackson is a bully and he is always teasing Mike. Nora sometimes helps Mike with his problems. For example, when Nora and Mike and Nora’s Mom had to go to the dentist Nora knew that he was getting mad because he can’t sit still so Nora asked to take a walk.

I enjoyed this book because it actually tells you how to do magic tricks. One of the tricks you can learn is how to make a coin vanish. I recommend this book to people who like magic, and are looking for a quick read. I rate this book 4-5 stars.

PS, you may only find this book on the fourth grade shelf in the library.