The author of modern YA classics like A Monster Calls and the Chaos Walking trilogy turns his hand to madcap middle grade fiction with the hilarious story of three hall monitors charged with protecting their school from all manner of zany threats.
Shortlisted for the Nero Children's Fiction Award 2024
Master storyteller Patrick Ness turns to middle grade in a hilarious adventure about a mismatched group of animals attending school together, brought to life by brilliantly funny illustrations.
Zeke and Daniel have just been made hall monitors by Principal Wombat. This has nothing to do with the fact that they are monitor lizards. And never mind the fact Alicia, the only other monitor lizard in the school, is also a hall monitor.
Somehow, the three hall monitors must impose order on arrogant lions, excitable seals and super-relaxed pandas. And worst of all, there is Pelicarnassus! A pompous giant pelican and the son of a major supervillain, who inexplicably has it out for the lizards. Can the hall monitor lizards and their new friend, a blind, fearsome red-tailed hawk, protect their school from all manner of outlandish threats?
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781529517958
Number of pages: 208
Weight: 191 g
Dimensions: 195 x 127 x 10 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Carnegie-scooping Patrick Ness pulls off a zany caper with verve... An entire subplot about how the country of France ended up on Zeke the monitor lizard’s knee is deftly rolled into this pacey, knockabout plot. - The Observer
This zany school adventure has likeable characters and explores friendship, growing up, and a parent who is fighting their own battles. - The Bookseller
Hilarious - Waterstones September’s Best Children’s Books 2024
Ness expertly mixes perceptive observation of the pressures of school and home life, and the compensations of friendship, with some situations and characters that are so way out that it is a wonder he can get away with it…It’s a tale that is beyond unpredictable: crazy, funny, and tender. Running through the laughter and bravura invention, there is an uplifting faith in our capacity to understand, love and support one another. Sheer unmissable brilliance...You will see it nowhere else. - Books for Keeps, Editor’s Choice
A laugh-out-loud, lump-in-your-throat tale about identity and friendship […] A classic series in the making, made even funnier by Tim Miller's wonderful ink drawings. - The School Librarian
