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Codzilla: A Hilarious Picture Book About a Codfish Who Stands Up to Bullies and Saves His Friends for Kids
In time for blockbuster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters comes something perfect for smaller Godzilla fans. Bertie—a giant codfish—is tired of being bullied about his size, but when the other fish at school start calling him Codzilla, it really hurts. Being big isn’t easy, but when a shark comes around with his mouth wide open, Bertie becomes everyone’s hero. For fans of Nugget & Fang, Friends Don’t Eat Friends, Clark the Shark, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Bertie is the biggest codfish in school. He loves reading about sharks more than anything, but he’s teased about his size by the fish in his school. When they start calling him Codzilla, he gets fed up and starts living up to the name. But when danger strikes from the deep in the form of a shark, Bertie uses his shark knowledge and his size to save his friends.
From David Zeltser (Ninja Baby) and Jared Chapman (Vegetables in Underwear) comes a heartfelt and clever tale about bullies, fast thinking, and the power of knowing your shark facts.
Bertie is the biggest codfish in school. He loves reading about sharks more than anything, but he’s teased about his size by the fish in his school. When they start calling him Codzilla, he gets fed up and starts living up to the name. But when danger strikes from the deep in the form of a shark, Bertie uses his shark knowledge and his size to save his friends.
From David Zeltser (Ninja Baby) and Jared Chapman (Vegetables in Underwear) comes a heartfelt and clever tale about bullies, fast thinking, and the power of knowing your shark facts.
40 pages, Hardcover
Published June 11, 2019
38 people want to read
About the author
David Zeltser
9 books20 followersDavid Zeltser is the author of Lug: Dawn of the Ice Age and its sequel, Lug: Blast from the North. These novels satirize humanity’s response to climate change and have been praised by Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Al Gore, who called the first book “a great combination of humor and powerful insight.”
His debut picture book, Ninja Baby (Chronicle Books, illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Diane Goode), was a runner-up for the Magnolia State Book Award, featured in USA Today, and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it “a funny and pitch-perfect story.” His more recent picture books include Codzilla (HarperCollins, illustrated by Jared Chapman) and The Night Library (Random House, illustrated by Raul Colón), which School Library Journal described as “sure to inspire people of all ages to pick up a book and experience the magic that unfolds.” The Universe Ate My Homework (Lerner Books, illustrated by Ayesha Rubio) was praised by NPR science journalist and Radiolab host Robert Krulwich, who kindly lent his voice to the book trailer.
David is also a screenwriter. He co-wrote the feature script Solo with director Joseph Greco; it is being produced by Oscar-winning producer Jonathan Sanger and James Trezza.
David and his friend Julia Chiapella co-founded The Word Lab, a free after-school writing center for kids. It’s in Santa Cruz, California, where he lives with his family.
His debut picture book, Ninja Baby (Chronicle Books, illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Diane Goode), was a runner-up for the Magnolia State Book Award, featured in USA Today, and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it “a funny and pitch-perfect story.” His more recent picture books include Codzilla (HarperCollins, illustrated by Jared Chapman) and The Night Library (Random House, illustrated by Raul Colón), which School Library Journal described as “sure to inspire people of all ages to pick up a book and experience the magic that unfolds.” The Universe Ate My Homework (Lerner Books, illustrated by Ayesha Rubio) was praised by NPR science journalist and Radiolab host Robert Krulwich, who kindly lent his voice to the book trailer.
David is also a screenwriter. He co-wrote the feature script Solo with director Joseph Greco; it is being produced by Oscar-winning producer Jonathan Sanger and James Trezza.
David and his friend Julia Chiapella co-founded The Word Lab, a free after-school writing center for kids. It’s in Santa Cruz, California, where he lives with his family.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 31, 2019
A fun book with a lesson about bullying - fantastic art!
March 4, 2019
Silly and sweet, Codzilla will get kids thinking about bullying, respecting each others' differences, and realizing that everyone has something to offer. They'll also learn that spending time in the library, reading and learning, can save the day! The cute story and fun, colorful illustrations will grab children's attention for sure!
June 20, 2019
This book has it all, honestly. I can and will be reading it over and over. It has a library, it has cute cartoons, it has dark humor that will crack kids up (sensitive readers may be alarmed). It has facts about sharks and it has a "moral" that can apply to anyone. It is the perfect read-aloud for older grades on a school visit (K-3rd ideal).
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June 18, 2019I totally judged this book by the cover and thought it was gonna be dumb, but it was actually cute and heartfelt and had a fun way to problem solve and of course I like Jared Chapman's illustrations. Also, it has a fun cover under the jacket and fun endpages.
June 25, 2019
I thought I knew where this was going, but I was pleasantly surprised by the silliness.
September 24, 2019
As a kid, I was made fun of constantly because I was very tall and lanky. I also loved Godzilla. This book was almost therapeutic.
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August 22, 2019How can an underwater library have dusty books
August 2, 2019
Good message about being kind to all and self-acceptance with a funny conflict resolution that kids will surely enjoy during a storytime.
July 27, 2019
Very funny! And a great message of being picked on because you're different.
June 11, 2019
Bertie is a giant codfish who just wants to be left alone to read his shark books. But a bully named Maxwell won't have it. Everywhere Bertie turns, Maxwell is making fun of him and calling him Codzilla. One day, Bertie reaches his limit, so decides to eat the fish who are picking on him.
Now, he can have some peace and quiet, or so he thinks. When they start talking from his belly, he has to get them out. So, he makes himself sneeze, but eating them only makes things worse for Bertie. The others dislike him even more. However, when a shark attacks the school, it's up to Bertie to save the day.
CODZILLA has bright and colorful images that sort of remind me of Spongebob Squarepants. I love that Bertie enjoys reading, but feel bad for him for being picked on. I like that he stands up for himself, but thought it was in an odd way. Guess that's a fish's life. His hobby for reading comes in handy when the shark attacks and it shows how importance knowledge can be.
Final Verdict: I would recommend this to fans of fish, standing up to bullies, and outwitting your enemies.
This review can also be found on YABC: http://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfic...
Now, he can have some peace and quiet, or so he thinks. When they start talking from his belly, he has to get them out. So, he makes himself sneeze, but eating them only makes things worse for Bertie. The others dislike him even more. However, when a shark attacks the school, it's up to Bertie to save the day.
CODZILLA has bright and colorful images that sort of remind me of Spongebob Squarepants. I love that Bertie enjoys reading, but feel bad for him for being picked on. I like that he stands up for himself, but thought it was in an odd way. Guess that's a fish's life. His hobby for reading comes in handy when the shark attacks and it shows how importance knowledge can be.
Final Verdict: I would recommend this to fans of fish, standing up to bullies, and outwitting your enemies.
This review can also be found on YABC: http://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfic...
January 5, 2020
I got this one on a whim cause Oz loves Godzilla...or the idea of Godzilla. I really liked this book because it was about a shy tall big kid who is bullied. It was a good idea for Oz who is 7 feet tall (approximately) and the biggest 4 year old in his class. I'm worried about him being bullied, so I was glad to see this book addressed that. It would have gotten 5 stars if it didn't have the cliche'ed everyone clapped ending.
September 26, 2020
“When you are big, it’s hard to fit in.”
Bertie is big, but gentle. He loves to read in the library, especially books about sharks. And then there’s Maxwell, the bully whose favorite thing is to make Bertie’s life miserable. No matter what Bertie does, Maxwell just won’t leave him alone.
But when a shark invades the school and everyone is afraid, it is Bertie that saves the day with the knowledge he acquired from books.
Cute.
Bertie is big, but gentle. He loves to read in the library, especially books about sharks. And then there’s Maxwell, the bully whose favorite thing is to make Bertie’s life miserable. No matter what Bertie does, Maxwell just won’t leave him alone.
But when a shark invades the school and everyone is afraid, it is Bertie that saves the day with the knowledge he acquired from books.
Cute.
November 25, 2020
Totally ridiculous, this book features a victim struggling to fight back against bullies. Bertie wants nothing more than to read shark books in peace, but incessant harassment makes this impossible. So he eats his tormentors. But this is not really an acceptable solution and he sneezes them back out.
I’m not sure there are great life lessons to be found here, but Bertie does find his strength as the school junior librarian.
I’m not sure there are great life lessons to be found here, but Bertie does find his strength as the school junior librarian.
November 25, 2019
Codzilla is a large fish who gets bullied for his size. He eats his bullies. He knows he can't do that and the teasing gets worse when he sneezes them out. Codzilla saves the day when a shark comes to eat the little fish but they disappear. This gentle fish saves them all and helps shark learn how much he needs to learn also.
The illustrations were cute and the the text was simply okay.
The illustrations were cute and the the text was simply okay.
February 20, 2022
I liked this book so much more than I expected! The Spongebob-y characters, the library plot line, the absurdity of fish eating their friend fish! It's honestly laugh out loud funny and such a sweet, unexpected read.
November 2, 2025
ehhhhh the illustrations are good, and it's silly but I can't help side-eyeing the fact that Bertie saves the day by "well, ACTUALLY"ing the shark.
also maybe don't eat your peers as a potential solution????
also maybe don't eat your peers as a potential solution????
July 12, 2019
With illustrations reminiscent of Spongebob, we get the story of a bullied cod whose fishy tormentors learn a lesson.
July 24, 2019
What did I just read? Very silly, but... what??
July 24, 2019
Weirdly convoluted? Cute illustrations though
July 26, 2019
Half weird, half cute.
August 1, 2019
If only he would have just eaten them and not spit them out.
August 8, 2019
A fish and his classmates deal with bullying. Preschool and up
September 7, 2019
I giggled the entire way through! Loved it!
September 24, 2019
As a librarian, I absolutely loved this story. I liked that it addressed bullying and how not to handle the situation. I also enjoyed the use of knowledge as power! A great story to read to children.
November 5, 2019
Fun, supposedly anti-bullying picture book. Actually maybe TOO fun, for any message to seep through. Both my kids enjoyed it.
7/10
7/10
April 28, 2021
Good stuff!
May 7, 2021
When I first began, I groaned and thought this book was going to be dumb, but the twists and humor won me over.
June 4, 2021
Laugh out loud funny. I read this one-on-one with a 2nd grade student and we both loved it. This will be a hit in my library.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews