first, look at the cover. now, look at the endpapers:



how are you going to say "no" to that?? you're not. because not only is it a beautifully designed book, the story itself is great, and if i could stand to be around children, i would give them this book, because it is both fun and good for them, like flintstones vitamins.

i saw this on a cart in the basement at work while i was waiting for the elevator, and the colors attracted me. me being me, i yanked it out from the middle, causing a minor More...

Dec 4, 2012

I recently finished reading the Lone Star book "Belly Up" by Stuart Gibbs. Growing up in America's most popular theme park would sound fun, right? Wrong! Teddy Fitzroy lives there and runs into trouble everyday because he is lonely and bored. The worst part for Teddy, is Henry the hippopotamus, the park's mascot. Lazy, nasty,and obnoxious are some of the never-ending list of negative words to describe Henry. But no one could hate him enough to land him belly up, which he does anyways. More...

Henry the Hippo is dead, and Teddy doesn't think it was an accident. Not that Teddy was necessarily personally attached to Henry, who happened to be a real stinker of a hippo. But still, you can't just let someone go around murdering whole hippos and getting away scot-free, right? Teddy sets out to investigate, and soon finds out that someone really doesn't want him nosing into the death of Henry.

The mystery portion of the book was fairly plausible (which is a tricky thing to accomplish in a ch More...

For a kid's book, it's pretty entertaining. Teddy comes across as a smart but bored kid who is more interested in animals than normal kid things like TV and video games, which I have a sneaking sympathy for since that's how I was for much of my own childhood. Also I've never been more jealous of a fictional childhood. Growing up in the Congo in the middle of the wilderness - what would that be like!

The mystery part of the book was pretty well done for a kid's book (it's not exactly an Agatha Chr More...

This adventurous murder mystery reminded me a lot of Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. FunJungle, America's as "close as you can get to the Africaan safari" theme park, has just found out it's beloved mascot, Henry the hippo, is dead. Teddy Fitzroy believes it is foul play beccause honestly, everyone hates the hippo. He immediately gets to work investigating. The only problem is.... he is twelve and the child of park employees, so no one takes him seriously!

I loved how much I learned about wild animal behav More...

Teddy, a 12-year-old, grew up in the Congo of Africa because his mother is a famous gorilla researcher on the order of Diane Fossey and his father is a famous wildlife photographer. They now live in a trailer in Texas on the outskirts of FunJungle, the largest zoo/Disneyworld type attraction in the USA, where his parents are employed. The mascot of the park, Henry the Hippo, a mean and messy animal who is not liked by many who have been injured by him, ends up suspiciously dead. Teddy and Summer More...

Teddy Fitzroy is a prankster who finds entertainment at the zoo his parents work at by giving monkeys water balloons or getting the security guards to chase after him for being places he’s not supposed to be. But when the Mascot, Henry the Hippo, turns up dead Teddy decides to sneak into the auditorium where the autopsy is being done. He overhears that Henry was murdered and begins an investigation of his own. There are plenty of suspects and with the help of a girl, Summer, the two smart kids w More...

I chose this book because when I first saw the cover I thought it looked interesting so I thought I should read it and see what the reason there was a dead hippo on the cover. Someone has murdered Henry the Hippo who is the mascot of the zoo Fun Jungle. Teddy feels that something’s up, so he decides to investigate the situation. My favorite quote would have to be: “Everyday, dozens of animals got sick; maybe even one or two would die. But for Henry to go belly-up…… that was pretty much a worst c More...

Imagine Mickey Mouse isn’t just a cartoon and people in costumes, but a real animal who people flock to see at Disney World as its central attraction. Then imagine Mickey turns up dead one day in front of all the customers at his exhibit.

That’s the scenario in Belly Up. FunJungle is a recent zoo and theme park extravaganza, and main mascot Henry the Hippo is dead. Twelve-year-old Teddy lives at FunJungle with his mom, a famous gorilla researcher, and dad, a wildlife photographer, who both work t More...

The first few pages of this book led me to believe that it would be a terrific pick for reluctant readers and a solid kid-pleaser. Stuart Gibbs is a screenwriter, and that comes through in the easy way this story unfolds and the amount of action that's to be found here. As the novel progressed, though, my initial spark of enthusiasm faded a bit. The premise is great, the story is clean, the writing is straightforward, and the characters (for the most part) are fun. But the pacing is uneven. Want More...

I got a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program. I couldn't resist the humorous description and the fun cover. Overall it was an enjoyable read and lots of fun!

Teddy lives in FunJungle Park with his mom, who researches apes, and his dad, who is a wildlife photographer. It's kind of crazy living in a zoo/theme park but things get even crazier when the unpleasant park mascot Henry the Hippo is found belly up in his habitat. Teddy sneaks into Henry's autopsy and overhears the fact that He More...

Fans of Carl Hiaasen’s books Hoot and Flush will enjoy this middle grade mystery set at FunJungle, an exotic animal amusement park. When Henry the Hippo, the mascot of the newly-opened park, goes belly up, 12-year old Teddy thinks it would be fun to sneak into the autopsy. He’s been around animals his whole life, since his mom is a gorilla researcher and his dad a wildlife photographer, and he’s intrigued by Henry’s seemingly untimely demise.

When he overhears that the hippo’s death might be a m More...

The lucky 12-year-old narrator, Teddy, gets to live in a zoo since his parents work for an animal theme park in Texas built and owned by one of the richest men in the world, J.J. McCracken. The zoo's famous mascot turns up dead and the boy is convinced the hippo was murdered. However it seems almost everyone at the zoo had a motive for murder and it's up to Teddy to find out who the real killer is, even when the killer is making attempts at Teddy's own life! The book's plot is entertaining and r More...

Why would someone murder a hippo? Especially if that hippo was the face of the big zoo Jungleworld, it's main attraction? That's what Teddy wonders. He teams up with the daughter of the filthy rich zoo owner's daughter to try to solve the mystery...but can he trust her? What about the ex-con who dresses up as one of the zoo characters? Whoever it is, they are serious about keeping Teddy away from his investigation. Teddy is the tween son of a photographer and a gorilla researcher who has lived i More...

BELLY UP is Stuart Gibbs debut as an author although he has written screenplays for Nickelodeon, Disney, ABC, and Fox. Before that he studied capabaras (the world's largest rodents) and worked at the Philadelphia Zoo.

BELLY UP is refreshing, adventurous, entertaining,and much more. Teddy Fitzroy is a typical boy who has grown up around exotic animals when he lived in Africa. His mother, a noted scientist who studied the behavior of monkeys and his father, a famous photographer have taken jobs at More...

This is a solid mystery about a boy named Teddy who lives at the world's largest zoo because his parents work there. He spends his time tormenting the security staff with pranks until one day the zoo's beloved mascot, Henry the Hippo, dies.

Teddy is the only one who believes it's murder, and he's determined to find the culprit. However, other animals start dying or getting out of their enclosures, and Teddy has to solve the crime quickly before he or his family are mauled and eaten.

It's a good m More...

I read this book 3erd quarter:
I like the book. I liked it because it was funny and had animals. Also because the main character, Teddy, lives in the zoo. You could tell it was funny by the first line in the book: I was caught giving the monkeys water ballons...You could also tell this is a funny book by the cover, a cartoon dead hippo.

In the first part of the book Teddy is telling you how he got to the zoo(only in the first few chapters). He use to live in the congo, but his parents moved back t More...

This was a fun, light-hearted, entertaining read with a humorous tone and a mystery to solve.

Teddy Fitzroy has been around animals more than people for most of his life. His mom works as a gorilla researcher, and his dad is a wildlife photographer. He spent his childhood in the Congo in Africa. Now he and his parents live and work at FunJungle, a cross between Disney World and the San Diego Zoo - which is set to become the most famous and lucrative zoo in the world.

However, not all things are go More...

A good solid read for 5th-7th, this is the story of Teddy, the son of a primate researcher and photographer whose family has ended up at a new animal attraction called FunJungle. When the mean tempered, disgusting zoo mascot Henry the Hippo dies, Teddy discovers that the animal just might have been murdered. But why is nobody investigating? 12-year old Teddy is an appealing character, and the action is just silly enough to be funny. This book is particularly notable for including parents who are More...

I thoroughly enjoyed Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs! This was another of my accidental finds while browsing library shelves. The cartoonish illustration of an upside-down hippo and the title intrigued me. The story is an excellent, sophisticatedly-plotted mystery. The main character is 12-year-old Teddy. He narrates the story in an absolutely authentic voice that engages the reader almost immediately.

The story centers around an elaborate zoo/amusement attraction called FunJungle to which Teddy and his More...

I really loved this book! I think kids will like it because it is funny and a good mystery at the same time! What I liked best about this book is the characters. I really connected with Teddy and Summer as a thirteen year old kid myself. I loved how their friendship grew as the book progressed, and I found myself wanting to join in with their adventures. If these kids were real kids I would totally want them to be in my circle of friends! The mystery element also added to the fun, it felt like a More...

Fun story-would make a good read-aloud. Would appeal to both boys and girls!

"12 year old Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Fitzroy has got a murder on his hands and trouble on his tail. Henry, the hippopatamus at the brand-new nationally known FunJungle, has gone belly up. Even though it's claimed he died of natural causes, Teddy smells something fishy and it sure ain't the polar bear's lunch. Dealing with the zoo's top brass proves to be nothing but a waste of time. They want to see any trace of Henry More...

Twelve year old Teddy Fitzroy has grown up around animals all his life. His parents worked with animals in the Congo until the war got so bad they feared for their son's life. Now they work for the new internationally know zoo, FunJungle. Teddy is constantly having problems with security. It is no wonder he finds himself in trouble when the zoo's mascot, Henry the Hippo is found dead in his pool. He sneaks into the autopsy room and finds out that Henry was murdered. He doesn't know who to trust More...

Belly Up
Whenever I have read a mystery book (which is not often), I turn to the back of the book to learn whodunit. I then enjoy reading to see how the author crafted the mystery. But when I read Belly Up, I refused myself that pleasure. I wanted to see how the mystery unfolded and remain part of the audience, and not an observer. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about zoo management. Middle school children should find this very interesting. There is violence, humor, sadness, gree More...

Something for everyone, but especially middle school boys.

Teddy leads a charmed life. He lives in a Zoo...no, really. A real one. Junjungle is a combination resort/zoo/safari/amusement park and Henry the Hippo is the star attraction. Even before the park was built, Henry was the star of his very own cartoon program. The real Henry. Well, that's a different story. He is obnoxious. Everyone hates him and he hates everyone. His favorite way of expressing himself is through excrement. That's right. More...

If you love animals, zoos and mysteries, Belly Up is just the book for you! I REALLY enjoyed this book and I am NOT an animal lover. This book has been sitting on my to read shelf for a few months and I just didn't pick it up. What was I waiting for? Belly Up would be a bit of a challenge for fall 4th graders, but just right for spring 4th graders and my middle school friends. However, it would be a great read aloud for younger audiences as well. My niece, who is going into 1st grade, LOVED list More...

This was a fun, engaging mystery that would be good for the middle grade set.

Things I liked:

-Non-absentee parents who behaved in ways that made sense. It seems like a lot of times the parents in children's books are either not alive or are gone in some way. And the ones that are there don't seem to have realistic reactions to what their children are doing. But Teddy's parents were solid, a big part of his daily routine, and behaved in a believable way when his life was in danger. It was refresh More...

Belly Up tells the story of two characters, really. The first is 12-year-old Teddy. He grew up with his super cool wildlife researcher/photographer parents in the African Congo. But then, they got an invite to work at the very prestigious theme park/zoo Fun Jungle, which is located in the middle of Texas.

It also stars Henry the Hippo, the mascot of the aforementioned Fun Jungle. When Henry dies, Teddy makes it his mission to figure out how -- alongside the owner of Fun Jungle's teenage daughter More...

Belly Up
Stuart Gibbs
Mystery
304 Pages
Read August 28 - September 10

Belly Up is about a kid named Teddy Fitzroy. His parents work for the biggest and bet zoo in the world, called FunJungle. FunJungle's mascot is Henry the Hippo. The book begins with Henry dying. Obviously, you can tell Henry died belly up. During Henry's autopsy, they find out that Henry was murdered. Someone probably fed him something sharp, and then it poked holes in his intestine. Although Henry's death was a catastrophe to mo More...

I loved this book!!!! I liked the whole FunJungle idea and I wish there was one in the US. What I liked about this book was the plot. This book is a mystery and the events that lead up to the solution are carefully planned. The first thing I saw was the hippo on the cover. The cover made me pick this book because it's different from most mysteries. Most murder mysteries involve people but this book had a different victim, a hippo. The first thing I thought was, "Who murders a hippo????"

I also l More...