Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter by Aaron Reynolds
The Hook:
Rex wants a dog, specifically a chocolate Labrador. He’s been begging his parents for forever. But his parents aren’t so sure he can handle the responsibility. So, for “practice” they get him a pet chicken. Yes, a chicken. He’s pretty disappointed. But he still does not want what happens next to happen to ANY pet!
Rex and his best friend, Darvish, take the chicken, who is now named Drumstick, to the carnival where he is cursed by a carnival game called The Reaper’s Curse. Soon after, a steam roller comes barreling down the road and promptly rolls over poor Drumstick. Yep, the chicken is flatter than a pancake. Rex feels horrible! His parents are never going to get him a dog after what happened to Drumstick.
Things go from bad to worse when Drumstick’s ghost visits him. Then other dead animals start to visit Rex, all begging him to solve the sinister situations that are happening at the zoo. Rex, Darvish, Drumstick and the other dead animals must get to the heart of the mystery before even more animals meet their demise. Can they do it? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
This book is in our library. It is also in Sora and Axis 360 as an ebook and audio book. It is 5 AR points.
My Thoughts (Careful! There Could Be Spoilers!):
This is rather predictable, yet super fun novel! The old game at the carnival reminds me of the 1990’s movie Big starring Tom Hanks. Although the carnival game is about the only similarity between the movie and the book. The character development of the dead animals is hilarious and will keep kids laughing throughout. The kids at my school love this book! I give it 4.2 stars.
Recommendations:
I recommend this book for 4th-6th grade students. It is 240 pages, not too long for reluctant readers and because it is so funny it will keep them interested from the first page to the end. This is the first in a series of 3 books, so if your child likes the first chances are they are going to want to read the second and third.
