Poached (FunJungle)

"Poached" by Stuart Gibbs is a middle school kid-friendly mystery on steroids! The second in Gibbs' FunJungle series, Teddy Fitzroy continues to run amok while being accused of stealing Kazoo the koala. The book rocks with slapstick comedy, unexpected twists, complex characters, and loads of suspects. Gibbs seamlessly includes an abundance of interesting info on animals in the context of the fictional FunJungle, a state of the art animal theme park/zoo. Why is this a significantly improved follow-up to the original, "Belly Up?" First, the author now steers clear of profanity, which is totally unnecessary in a kids' book. Second, we follow Teddy as he actually leaves FunJungle to attend school (OK, the other book took place during the summer break), where a bullying gang selects him as a prime target. The school setting allows Gibbs to both strengthen his characters and introduce topics of interest to middle schoolers., including cliques and crushes. Vance and his twin accomplices (cleverly named TimJim) coerce Teddy into pranking at FunJungle, although Teddy has always been quite mischievous without any pressure. Another improvement in Poached is the author's deemphasis on the weight of characters. The first book made fun of obesity, which is a no-no in my opinion. Teddy's parents do a lot more than just listen to him in this second mystery; not only are their jobs are on the line if Teddy has poached Kazoo but they are acting more like responsible adults. Finally, Gibbs has amped up his clever array of suspects, keeping us in suspense until the very end. I used the first book as a read-aloud with a lot of on-the-spot editing, but wouldn't have any qualms about this book in the hands of middle schoolers. It's a 5-star read with a very satisfying conclusion.

Poached is just as entertaining as Belly Up! My 8-year-old son loved it, and even my 14-year-old got completely hooked. The story is funny, fast-paced, and full of clever twists that make it hard to put down. Perfect for kids who enjoy adventure, mystery, and animals, this book keeps readers of all ages engaged and laughing.

Good series for younger teens/mid-grade readers. Read several in this series to my daughter when she was 10-12ish and she still enjoys them at age 14, though they’re too basic for my older kids (16+).

My daughter loves these books. It is hard to find something she can stay interested in and these books are mature enough but not too mature. I would highly recommend them to 12-14 year olds.

While I really enjoyed reading about Teddy's second adventure, there were a couple of things that bugged me. The way Vance, the bully from school, seems to control everyone at school, including the principal really rubbed me the wrong way. I mean, where were all the adults when Vance and his friends were getting ready to stuff Teddy's head in the toilet of a filthy bathroom. Maybe it's because I work in a school and I know how hard the staff works to keep the school running well but it seems so stereotypical. However, who am I to say there aren't schools where that sort of thing happens, bullying is an ongoing problem in most places after all. Outside of the bullying though, I'm not a big fan of characters I like getting accused of things they didn't do, and Teddy gets accused of stealing the koala on loan from Australia. Now admittedly Teddy has done plenty of things that make him a suspect, but Marge the security head for the park is so inept its annoying. What I did like outside of the mystery itself was the way Teddy's parents supported him. So many middle grade novels have either nonexistent parents or neglectful, uncaring ones, it was nice to read about some pretty cool parents. A fun addition to the series, and as always its fun to learn more about some of the different animals.

I am a huge fan of Stuart Gibbs and I was a little skeptical about the sequel. However, I was pleasantly surprised after reading this book. PLOT: Teddy is now attending public school. Vance Jessup the school bully has a bone to pick with Teddy since he put a snake in Vance' s gym bag. Vance and his posse force Teddy to put a mannequin' s arm in the shark tank. Large Marge immediately assumes it's Teddy' s doing and chases after him with the rest of her security guards. Teddy hides in the park's biggest new attractions ' exhibit by using Summer's all access security code that she gave Teddy in the last book. Teddy hides in Kazoo the Koala' s exhibit until security leaves. Since the exhibit was put up in a hurry, the security cameras only work on the outside of the exhibit. The next day Teddy finds out that Kazoo was stolen and that he was the only person filmed entering and exiting the exhibit. Teddy realizes he has been framed. Teddy has to find out who the culprit is or else he will have to go to jail. Kazoo is also on a specialized and will starve if he doesn't eat so Teddy has to find him fast. I recommend this book to kids 8 to 15. This book had a lot of action such as Teddy swimming with the sharks to being almost dunked in the Toilet of Doom. Teddy' s parents also played a bigger part in this book which I liked. I also predict that Summer will appear more in the next book because in the end of Poached she said she was going to ask her Dad if she could go to the same school as Teddy. I liked Belly Up more than Poached, but it was still a great read. I really hope Stuart Gibbs decides to write a third book !!!!!

Great book! A great series with a great plot and storyline.

Gibbs is awesome! My kiddo loves this book.