Panda-monium

Panda-monium
by Stuart Gibbs
Recommended Ages: 12+

In book 4 of the FunJungle series, Teddy Fitzroy isn't supposed to poke his nose into the kidnapping, or rather panda-napping, of the zoo-theme park's newest acquisition. When a panda vanishes out of the back of a truck somewhere between Las Cruces, New Mexico and the west Texas hill country, an international incident breaks out that could ruin the park's founder, J.J. McCracken. But the FBI is on the case – particularly, a certain Agent Molly O'Malley, the sister of Teddy's nemesis, park security guard Marge O'Malley. And a resentful Marge has dirt on J.J.'s daughter Summer, who happens to be Teddy's girlfriend, that she won't hesitate to spill. A little blackmail does wonders to motivate a kid like Teddy, and so he applies his mystery-cracking skills to the panda case despite being warned off by the FBI.

Meanwhile, there's also trouble in the dolphin display, where someone has apparently tampered with the playful creatures' training. Teddy himself becomes the first known example of this when a dolphin pantses him and throws him out of the pool, buck naked. In this case, his help solving the mystery is welcomed. But the two cases get tangled up when a bad guy wearing a panda costume threatens Teddy with a gun in the dolphin enclosure. Things get even more chilling when the same guy tosses Teddy to the polar bears, which is even scarier than having a tiger on the loose. But with incompetent Marge pressuring him from one side, and a brusque Molly ignoring his theories on the other, it will once again be up to Teddy to prove whodunit and restore the missing panda to where she belongs.

Like the three installments before this, this is a middle school-friendly thriller with plenty of laughs, thrills, and the type of learning that goes down easily. Readers will pick up fascinating tidbits of panda knowledge, as well as a few insights about pandas, polar bears and other creatures, all amid the zany setting of a theme park and zoo where something outrageous seems ready to happen on no notice whatsoever. For instance, get a load of what happens when Marge is at the wheel of a golf cart in a high speed chase through landscaping features, vendor booths and an animal-themed parade.

Further installments in this series are Lion Down, Tyrannosaurus Wrecks, Bear Bottom and Whale Done. Stuart Gibbs is also the author of the time-traveling Last Musketeer trilogy, 11 Spy School books, the Moon Base Alpha trilogy, four Charlie Thorne adventures, and four Once Upon a Tim books.