Lion Down by Stuart Gibbs - ESSENTIAL

Lion Down (FunJungle #5) by Stuart Gibbs, 332 pages.  Simon and Schuster, 2019.  $18.

Content: G (some danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Teddy has sworn off helping with any ore mysteries around FunJungle, but two fall into his lap on the same day.  The giraffes at FunJungle are getting sick every Sunday night – is someone poisoning them? Mr. McCracken will even pay Teddy to solve this one.  Also, the annoying dog of the annoying Lincoln Stone is missing or dead, and Stone is sure that the local wild mountain lion is at fault.  He wants the county to give him permission to kill the lion, or maybe without permission one of his many radio listeners will do the deed for him.  Teddy thins the whole death scene is a fake, he he’s having a hard time tracking down clues – there is a small window to save the life on the mountain lion.

Gibbs has grown in the same direction of Carl Hiaasen, adding environmental messages into his novels that don’t come off as heavy handed or “educational”  I have always loved Gibb’s humor and action – the rest is gravy.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS