 | Chronicles Of A Lizard Nobody (Chronicles Of A Lizard Nobody) Author: Ness, Patrick | |
| Price: $7.37 | ||
Summary:
When Principal Wombat makes monitor lizards Zeke, Daniel, and Alicia hall monitors, Zeke gives up on popularity at his new school. Brought in as part of a district blending program, the monitor lizards were mostly ignored before. Why would Principal Wombat make them hall monitors?
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (09/01/24)
School Library Journal (+) (10/04/24)
Booklist (+) (07/01/24)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/01/2024 *Starred Review* Ness and Miller, the dream team you never knew you needed, deliver an exceptional chapter book that explores bullying, stereotyping, grief, and friendship. Zeke the monitor lizard has been made a hall monitor, and his duties put him in the path of bully pelican Pelicarnassus, who swears revenge on the kindly—and possibly even heroic—Zeke. There's a delightful absurdity to the BoJack Horsemanesque world building, through the animal dynamics and the fact that Zeke literally has the country of France on his knee (the rules of which are fully defined and, somehow, work). Miller's illustrations are very Tim Miller, a high compliment, delivering the trademark cute,(visually) deadpan humor through simple black-line drawings, and they soar when juxtaposed with Zeke's heartbreaking backstory about a dead father and a mother still despondent in grief, represented by a black dog that shadows her, a barrier between her and everyone else. The melting pot of animal species serves as an opportunity to explore stereotyping, though it's an underdeveloped theme thus far. Attempts at inclusivity fall a bit flat as well, as Zeke's large size, while shown as a strength, is made fodder for fatphobic bullying, and a blind falcon classmate is largely defined by his disability, serving too often as a punch line. Still, future installments promise room for development to this strong foundation that is sure to amuse and even move young middle-graders. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.
