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Unabridged Digital Audiobook
Runtime: 6 hours, 40 minutes
Read by Gibson Frazier
Most kids (and adults, too), love a trip to the zoo—to wander from one exhibit to the next, visiting animals from all around the world. And the audio edition of Poached, the second Teddy Fitzroy adventure by author Stuart Gibbs, takes listeners behind the scenes at a super-sized zoo to help a young sleuth track down an animal thief.
The story begins as a silly prank gets middle schooler Teddy into deep trouble. When the school’s bully, Vance Jessup, makes Teddy put a fake arm in the shark tank at FunJungle, the zoo where his parents work, Teddy sneaks into the koala exhibit to escape from Large Marge, the head of security. But when the zoo’s prized koala, Kazoo, goes missing—and Teddy was the only person caught on camera leaving the exhibit—he ends up racing to prove his innocence and recover the koala before Marge can put him behind bars.
Teddy’s world is a fascinating one. Born in the Congo and raised by a primate researcher and a wildlife photographer, he now lives in a trailer outside FunJungle, a gigantic zoo and theme park in Texas. He can come and go through the exhibits and hang out with the animals. And that alone makes this series worth checking out—especially if your young reader loves animals as much as mine does.
But, of course, there’s more to the story. There’s a missing marsupial, a growing list of suspects, and bullies of all sizes. And as Teddy attempts to outrun (and outsmart) both the school bully and the vengeful head of security, who’s determined to prove that he’s behind the koala-napping, he works with a variety of allies and goes undercover, so he can find the real marsupial thief, prove his innocence, and get back to his plain old boring life.
Whether he’s at school or on the run at FunJungle, Teddy’s story is action-packed and fun-filled—and readers of all ages will find themselves laughing out loud at his misadventures. Really, the book’s greatest flaw is its narration, which is muted and echoing—and that sometimes dampens the energy. It takes some getting used to, too—and it can be frustrating—but you’ll eventually be able to overlook the sound and enjoy the story.
If your kids love visiting the animals at the zoo, they’ll enjoy this behind-the-scenes whodunit. And they’ll be eager to pick up more of Teddy’s adventures, too.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
