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The Gecko and Sticky #1
Villain's Lair
The Gecko & Sticky are a fabulous crime-fighting duo! This quartet of funny adventures will appeal to fans of superheroes both young and old, and would make terrific all-family read-alouds.
Dave Sanchez is an average boy with an after-school job and a pet gecko named Sticky. All very normal—until the day Sticky talks!
Sticky tells Dave a wild tale of a former life of crime, searching for Aztec gold with a treasure hunter named Damien Black, and of a magical Aztec wristband with shiny gold power ingots that will give the wearer super powers. Dave doesn’t believe a word—until Sticky shows him the wristband.
But while Sticky managed to escape with the wristband, Damien Black has the power ingots. So the lizard and treasure hunter each have something the other wants . . . very badly.
Filled with wild adventures, larger-than-life characters, and snappy-funny dialogue, The Gecko and Sticky books are perfect for young superheroes everywhere.
Don't miss the other Gecko & Sticky
1. The Villain's Lair,
2. The Greatest Power,
3. Sinister Substitute, and
4. The Power Potion.
Dave Sanchez is an average boy with an after-school job and a pet gecko named Sticky. All very normal—until the day Sticky talks!
Sticky tells Dave a wild tale of a former life of crime, searching for Aztec gold with a treasure hunter named Damien Black, and of a magical Aztec wristband with shiny gold power ingots that will give the wearer super powers. Dave doesn’t believe a word—until Sticky shows him the wristband.
But while Sticky managed to escape with the wristband, Damien Black has the power ingots. So the lizard and treasure hunter each have something the other wants . . . very badly.
Filled with wild adventures, larger-than-life characters, and snappy-funny dialogue, The Gecko and Sticky books are perfect for young superheroes everywhere.
Don't miss the other Gecko & Sticky
1. The Villain's Lair,
2. The Greatest Power,
3. Sinister Substitute, and
4. The Power Potion.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Wendelin Van Draanen
54 books2,217 followersWendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes series, and wrote Flipped which was named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century by SLJ, and became a Warner Brothers feature film with Rob Reiner directing. Her novel The Running Dream was awarded ALA’s Schneider Family Award for its portrayal of the disability experience.
Van Draanen's latest book, Hope in the Mail, is part memoir, part writing guided, designed to encourage aspiring writers to pursue their dream.
Van Draanen is also the author of two short chapter-book series. The Gecko & Sticky books, are fun read-alouds, perfect for reluctant readers, and the Shredderman books—featuring a boy who deals with a bully—received the Christopher Award for “affirming the highest values of the human spirit” and became a Nickelodeon made-for-TV movie.
Van Draanen was a classroom teacher for fifteen years. She and her husband reside in California and have two sons.
Van Draanen's latest book, Hope in the Mail, is part memoir, part writing guided, designed to encourage aspiring writers to pursue their dream.
Van Draanen is also the author of two short chapter-book series. The Gecko & Sticky books, are fun read-alouds, perfect for reluctant readers, and the Shredderman books—featuring a boy who deals with a bully—received the Christopher Award for “affirming the highest values of the human spirit” and became a Nickelodeon made-for-TV movie.
Van Draanen was a classroom teacher for fifteen years. She and her husband reside in California and have two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
May 2, 2009
Kids will enjoy this. But as an adult, I found Sticky's Spanglish/Stickyese bit annoyingly reminiscent of the Taco Bell chihuahua. And the narrator's confidences to the reader "Ah-ah-ah,I warned you. But this story is true" has the same annoying ring of an award winning book I despise, The Tale of Despereaux Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread.
But again, I'm an adult and this is for kids--boy reluctant reader types, I would guess. And some of them may go for it.
But again, I'm an adult and this is for kids--boy reluctant reader types, I would guess. And some of them may go for it.
June 9, 2015
NOTE: This review is specifically for the audiobook version. The reader's performance may have skewed my perspective.
If you still think Speedy Gonzales is an appropriate character for the 21st century, then you may enjoy Sticky as performed in this audiobook. I'm not entirely the character, with his stereotypical exclamations, is significantly better in print; but in this format, I found him intolerable.
If you still think Speedy Gonzales is an appropriate character for the 21st century, then you may enjoy Sticky as performed in this audiobook. I'm not entirely the character, with his stereotypical exclamations, is significantly better in print; but in this format, I found him intolerable.
February 9, 2018
This is the first book in The Gecko and Sticky series by Wendelin Van Draanen. It was a strange and almost nonsensical story, but by the end of the book I could see the appeal for younger children, especially boys.
The accent on Sticky is very irritating (and stereotypical), but otherwise I appreciated listening to Marc Cashman's narration. He reads with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and he was able to change his voice enough to accommodate the myriad characters, all of which helps when listening to a story.
This is certainly not a favorite, but I've seen the series for awhile and finally thought I'd check it out. I believe this may be a series that engages reluctant readers, and I am sure that I'll give the next book a go as well.
The accent on Sticky is very irritating (and stereotypical), but otherwise I appreciated listening to Marc Cashman's narration. He reads with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and he was able to change his voice enough to accommodate the myriad characters, all of which helps when listening to a story.
This is certainly not a favorite, but I've seen the series for awhile and finally thought I'd check it out. I believe this may be a series that engages reluctant readers, and I am sure that I'll give the next book a go as well.
March 21, 2012
The Gecko & Sticky are two of the most hilarious characters I have ever come across in literature. Sticky is the actual gecko and the “Gecko” is the superhero moniker of Sticky’s 13-year-old friend, Dave Sanchez. Confused? It makes sense when you read the book, whose tongue-in-cheek narrative style is full of asides and inside jokes for the reader.
The Gecko and Sticky actually make their first appearance within the pages of van Draanen’s four book Shredderman series–which I also highly recommend. (There is very little of van Draanen’s work I cannot recommend–only those I have not yet read.) It should be noted that in Shredderman they appear as a fictional superhero and sidekick character whereas in The Gecko & Sticky series the narrator specifically tells us she is relating an ABSOLUTELY TRUE story.
Dave is a typical 13-year-old boy. He is courageous, honest, well-intentioned, and has an entrepeneurial spirit. In the first installment he creates his own courier company powered by his bicycle. This serves to establish him as responsible, reliable, and an experienced bicyclist, allowing him to believeably travel from one location to another. He meets Sticky, a gecko lizard, and discovers in the first book of the series that Sticky can speak. He later finds out that Sticky has a habit of stealing small items and is also guilty of both embellishing facts to his advantage and omitting those that are not.
Despite Sticky’s less admirable qualities, his adventures with Dave opposite the exquisitely dastardly villian Damien Black show him to be good at heart. Likewise the friendship between Dave and Sticky continues to grow in each book. Dave learns unconditional acceptance of Sticky’s more frustrating tendencies. Sticky is increasingly genuine in his dealings with Dave as both gradually realize how much their friendship has come to mean to each of them.
The development of the friendship between the two characters is best experienced when reading the books in order but each individual story stands well on its own as well. The three bumbling Bandito Brothers (who are not really brothers and began as a mariachi band, not as bandits per se) who perform as Damien Black’s inept henchmen, along with Rosie, their buck-toothed burro, are also an endless source of humor.
These books are a wonderful combination of humor and adventure. I LOVE reading these stories aloud to an audience as well as independently. I read the first installment aloud to my 4th graders this year and they really enjoyed it.
I highly recommend this series; these stories are the definition of LAUGH-OUT-LOUD.
The Gecko and Sticky actually make their first appearance within the pages of van Draanen’s four book Shredderman series–which I also highly recommend. (There is very little of van Draanen’s work I cannot recommend–only those I have not yet read.) It should be noted that in Shredderman they appear as a fictional superhero and sidekick character whereas in The Gecko & Sticky series the narrator specifically tells us she is relating an ABSOLUTELY TRUE story.
Dave is a typical 13-year-old boy. He is courageous, honest, well-intentioned, and has an entrepeneurial spirit. In the first installment he creates his own courier company powered by his bicycle. This serves to establish him as responsible, reliable, and an experienced bicyclist, allowing him to believeably travel from one location to another. He meets Sticky, a gecko lizard, and discovers in the first book of the series that Sticky can speak. He later finds out that Sticky has a habit of stealing small items and is also guilty of both embellishing facts to his advantage and omitting those that are not.
Despite Sticky’s less admirable qualities, his adventures with Dave opposite the exquisitely dastardly villian Damien Black show him to be good at heart. Likewise the friendship between Dave and Sticky continues to grow in each book. Dave learns unconditional acceptance of Sticky’s more frustrating tendencies. Sticky is increasingly genuine in his dealings with Dave as both gradually realize how much their friendship has come to mean to each of them.
The development of the friendship between the two characters is best experienced when reading the books in order but each individual story stands well on its own as well. The three bumbling Bandito Brothers (who are not really brothers and began as a mariachi band, not as bandits per se) who perform as Damien Black’s inept henchmen, along with Rosie, their buck-toothed burro, are also an endless source of humor.
These books are a wonderful combination of humor and adventure. I LOVE reading these stories aloud to an audience as well as independently. I read the first installment aloud to my 4th graders this year and they really enjoyed it.
I highly recommend this series; these stories are the definition of LAUGH-OUT-LOUD.
April 23, 2009
This is an adventurous, mysterious, and real story about a boy named Dave and his talking gecko, Sticky. No, really, it's a true story! Sticky leads Dave to a scary old mansion that is booby-trapped with hollow walls and shrunken heads. They are there to steal a magic Aztec armband that is currently in the possession of the evil villain Damien Black. The armband, combined with powerful gold ingots, gives the wearer the ability to fly, turn invisible, all kinds of things. They're stealing it because they are good and Black is evil. This adventure is just the beginning as Dave and Sticky try to get the best of Black. Villain's Lair is the first book in a fun new series by the perenially popular Van Draanen.
July 24, 2009
Okay. First of all, when my mom put this book on hold for me at the library, I thought it was going to be a stupid book. But when I read my mom the flap I thought it sounded like a good book. My mom even said it sounded like something I'd write; I'm going to be an author when I grow up. I really liked it.
April 16, 2009
Series fiction aimed at boys isn't something that I usually read so it is hard for me to compare this book to others. It was filled with adventure and light humor so I'm sure 4th grade boys will enjoy this book about a boy and a gecko.
October 25, 2018
Dave Sanchez is an average boy with an after-school job and a pet gecko named Sticky. All very normal—until the day Sticky talks. Sticky tells Dave a wild tale of a former life of crime, searching for Aztec gold with a treasure hunter named Damien Black, and of a magical Aztec wristband with shiny gold power ingots that will give the wearer super powers. Dave doesn’t believe a word—until Sticky shows him the wristband. But while Sticky managed to escape with the wristband, Damien Black has the power ingots. So the lizard and treasure hunter each have something the other wants . . . very badly.
Filled with outrageous adventures, over-the-top characters, snappy-funny dialogue, and a tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek narration, this new series is sure to be a hit with young superheros everywhere.
Wendelin Van Draanen spent many years as a teacher before devoting herself to writing full-time. She lives in Central California.
Filled with outrageous adventures, over-the-top characters, snappy-funny dialogue, and a tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek narration, this new series is sure to be a hit with young superheros everywhere.
Wendelin Van Draanen spent many years as a teacher before devoting herself to writing full-time. She lives in Central California.
May 19, 2019
We’ve listened to the audiobook for three in this series so far. The audiobook is great! It’s pretty funny, the villain is such a character. The protagonist is a 13 year old boy with good values who has a talking gecko sidekick. The story isn’t life-changing or anything. In fact, I missed some parts and didn’t care. But it was wholesome entertainment for my 10yo.
January 30, 2021
Silly fun with words and boy and gecko- I read this out of order (2,3,4,1) but what the heck. A lot that I thought might be explained wasn't (because if we're going to take a talking gecko at face value, well, why not, and maybe an 8 year old would enjoy the torture a bit more than I did, but it was silly fun, and I'm looking for any 8 year old so I can recommend the series...
January 31, 2017
At first I thought it was going to be long and boring, but I really liked the adventure in the book.
July 26, 2018
Really fun for what it is. It is aimed squarely at elementary readers and still manages to be intelligent and funny. I will get to the rest of these.
November 10, 2020
Cute, perfect for early readers and ESL students
August 10, 2022
C. fiction, fantasy, adventure, children's fiction, grader 4-5; boy and gecko, a bit hoaky, but probably appealing to middle and upper elementary; series (The Gecko and Sticky, #1)
November 19, 2023
This is not a bad book, but not my kind of thing. I liked the tie in with Shredderman.
Read
January 23, 2024Reading with my 10 year old and he absolutely loves it! He can hardly wait to start the second book in the series tonight.
December 31, 2024
Ugh. Almost every stereotype of Spanish speaking people is in this book.
Tropes are fun if they work. And they don’t in this one.
Tropes are fun if they work. And they don’t in this one.
November 9, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
A boy and his pet gecko. It doesn't seem like the makings of much of an adventure, but imagine if it was a talking gecko with notoriously "sticky" fingers.
Dave Sanchez is a pretty normal kid. He lives in an apartment with his hardworking parents and his annoying sister. Life was fairly routine until the day his pet gecko announced that he could talk. He told some crazy story about helping three loco banditos in their get-rich-quick schemes.
Now he says he is trying to track down the diabolical Damien Black.
Sticky the gecko has a powerful Aztec wristband known for its superpowers. The catch is that the evil Damien Black has the power ingots that must be snapped into the wristband to activate its powers - invisibility and the power of flight - just to name a few.
According to Sticky, they must get to the ingots before Damien gets to the wristband and begins his plan to take over the world. Their adventure begins as they battle slimy snails, shrieking bats, and shrunken heads to gain access to Damien's frightful mansion.
This new series by author Wendelin Van Draanen offers fast-paced action and quick-witted humor. Dave and his sassy sidekick Sticky are sure to please fans of Van Draanen's earlier SHREDDERMAN series.
This is an excellent choice for boys and especially reluctant readers looking for fun and adventure.
A boy and his pet gecko. It doesn't seem like the makings of much of an adventure, but imagine if it was a talking gecko with notoriously "sticky" fingers.
Dave Sanchez is a pretty normal kid. He lives in an apartment with his hardworking parents and his annoying sister. Life was fairly routine until the day his pet gecko announced that he could talk. He told some crazy story about helping three loco banditos in their get-rich-quick schemes.
Now he says he is trying to track down the diabolical Damien Black.
Sticky the gecko has a powerful Aztec wristband known for its superpowers. The catch is that the evil Damien Black has the power ingots that must be snapped into the wristband to activate its powers - invisibility and the power of flight - just to name a few.
According to Sticky, they must get to the ingots before Damien gets to the wristband and begins his plan to take over the world. Their adventure begins as they battle slimy snails, shrieking bats, and shrunken heads to gain access to Damien's frightful mansion.
This new series by author Wendelin Van Draanen offers fast-paced action and quick-witted humor. Dave and his sassy sidekick Sticky are sure to please fans of Van Draanen's earlier SHREDDERMAN series.
This is an excellent choice for boys and especially reluctant readers looking for fun and adventure.
July 5, 2011
If Sticky is a gecko, and if geckos are sticky...why "The Gecko & Sticky"? I'm not about to spoil this perfectly pleasurable read for all the potential tween boy readers out there...boys, you will simply have to read this one to put it all together!
I was once an all-knowing thirteen year old boy just like Dave; well, not "just" like him, but you get my drift, so I can vouch that I would have loved to read about Dave and Sticky's perilous plot had the book only been written back in 1762 when I was thirteen. Alas, since I did not have the opportunity to read it way back then, I travelled back in time to when I was thirteen and then propelled myself forward in time as a thirteen year old just so I could read Ms. Van Draanen's book. And, if you can swallow that...it could happen, right?...then you will enjoy reading this "true" adventure about a boy and a talking gecko lizard.
This is not a serious read, but it is fun, unforgettable~that is to say memorable~and well-written. Van Draanen makes use of alliteration, and there are a lot of humorously delivered truisms sprinkled throughout. This is a highly-recommended summer or other down-time fun read. Warning: once you begin, be sure you have a couple of hours because you won't want to set this one down.
I was once an all-knowing thirteen year old boy just like Dave; well, not "just" like him, but you get my drift, so I can vouch that I would have loved to read about Dave and Sticky's perilous plot had the book only been written back in 1762 when I was thirteen. Alas, since I did not have the opportunity to read it way back then, I travelled back in time to when I was thirteen and then propelled myself forward in time as a thirteen year old just so I could read Ms. Van Draanen's book. And, if you can swallow that...it could happen, right?...then you will enjoy reading this "true" adventure about a boy and a talking gecko lizard.
This is not a serious read, but it is fun, unforgettable~that is to say memorable~and well-written. Van Draanen makes use of alliteration, and there are a lot of humorously delivered truisms sprinkled throughout. This is a highly-recommended summer or other down-time fun read. Warning: once you begin, be sure you have a couple of hours because you won't want to set this one down.
August 16, 2014
Sticky is a kleptomaniac gecko with the power of speech. Dave is the thirteen year old kid who saved him from the neighbor's cat. Now Sticky and Dave are breaking into the nightmarish mansion of Damien Black (treasure hunter and all-around bad guy) in order to steal a magic bracelet.
Overall, I wasn't a fan of the first two chapters. The narrator sounds like a know-it-all, with a very boastful tone. I didn't connect with the characters, and I really couldn't tell you what drove them. I'm sure this has an audience, but I'm just not sure who that is.
(Note: I thought I was reading the first book in the series, and have only just realized that was not the case. Maybe readers would enjoy it more if they started at the beginning.)
Overall, I wasn't a fan of the first two chapters. The narrator sounds like a know-it-all, with a very boastful tone. I didn't connect with the characters, and I really couldn't tell you what drove them. I'm sure this has an audience, but I'm just not sure who that is.
(Note: I thought I was reading the first book in the series, and have only just realized that was not the case. Maybe readers would enjoy it more if they started at the beginning.)
October 3, 2016
I really loved another series by this author - so I was excited to get this one for my kids. Unfortunately - it just wasn't the same caliber of writing. She is writing to a younger audience - and somehow that translates into a ridiculous amount of asides to the reader - delivered in the form of text in parenthesis. Occasionally, those can be fun - but over and over - it is distracting from the story (which was just average by the way- see how I am incorporating my own ASIDE - its contagious!) and just tedious. Pity - because the idea of a crime solving kid and his talking gecko was so promising!
August 14, 2009
Dave and his talking Gecko Sticky are trying to get an artifact from the evil Damien Black. They enter his creepy home looking for special ingots that when combined with the wristband that Sticky already has will give superhero powers to the wearer including the ability to fly and to become invisible. This is the first book in a series. 3rd-4th grade. It has the feel to me of the Mysterious Benedict Society or the Series of Unfortunate events (with the evil character, creepy booby trapped home, adventurous plot etc.) but for a little bit younger crowd.
November 9, 2010
Although this book made me chuckle a few times, it was just too "dumbed-down" for me to get into. I didn't even finish the first CD. If you're wondering what I mean by dumbed down, I'll explain. Roal Dahl and C.S. Lewis write (or rather wrote) great children's books without having to resort to gimmicks, oversimplified plots, and melodrama (okay so Roald Dahl got a little melodramatic every once in a while). But they just wrote well-thought-out stories that happened to appeal to adults and kids alike. Sorry Wendelin. (Incidentally, could that name be any more androgynous?)
May 30, 2017
Gecko and sticky villain's lair by Wendelin van draanen. It was about a gecko having super powers because of wrist band that is from the aztec that has magic powers by putting it on but the villains try to steal it for they can have powers. I would put more exciting words to make it interesting because i got bored reading it. I would recommend this book to my friend that is reading the 2 book and there is scene that can match up with the second book like in the end when they where still getting chased by the villains .I give this book 3 stars i didn't enjoy reading
April 16, 2009
Dave has a talking Gecko. His talking gecko has talked Dave into retriving some magic coins that will gave super powers. The only probleme is the coins are held by evil Damien Black in a cage with a Komodo Dragon.
It's funny, and gross, with an adventure. Just what every third and fourth grade boy wants.
It's funny, and gross, with an adventure. Just what every third and fourth grade boy wants.
January 13, 2016
We really enjoyed this book's story. Struggled with the writing a bit. We never figured out who the narrator is ... the "I" in the writing. Perhaps because we started with book #3, but I think they should be stand alone even within a series. Enjoyed the story, even if very far-fetched for a city environment. Fun action story, not quite a mystery genre.
February 26, 2014
Not a bad book, just not one that I'll necessarily recommend to people. It seems like some books written for younger audiences still entertain and enrich the audience, no matter the age. This book didn't quite reach that level of appeal.
My daughter liked it, though. So if you are about 9 years old, maybe you should give it a chance!
G
My daughter liked it, though. So if you are about 9 years old, maybe you should give it a chance!
G
June 21, 2009
I tried this one out of the publisher's box when it came because the "Sammy Keyes" books are so popular at my library. I can't say that I found anything great in this series opener. It doesn't feel like a good or a bad series, just kind of there.
Grades 2-4.
Grades 2-4.
February 26, 2010
Adventure and silly superhero characters make this a good choice for young boys and girls who are comfortable with their chapter-book reading skills. Van Draanen knows how to write for kids who want fun, adventure and some mild thrills.
November 9, 2011
Look out Geico Gecko! Wendelin Van Draanen has created a fun, memorable hero in the wisecracking, Spanglish-speaking Sticky, a kleptomaniac gecko. Also a dastardly villain in Damian Black. Throw in a bad mariachi band-turned-group-of-thugs, and you've got yourself some entertaining reading time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews