Katfish

The Creature From My Closet #4

by Obert Skye

Rob Burnside's life is in ruins. After his escapades with Pinocula and his resulting outrageous lies, everyone is fed up with him. In this Creature from My Closet book by Obert Skye, Rob needs help. And his science laboratory closet is there to give him a hand. Meet Katfish, a mashup of Katniss from the Hunger Games and the Little Mermaid. This girl is strong as nails and sports a tail.

Everyone at Rob's school is excited about an upcoming riff on the Hunger Games created by Principal Smelt: the Fun-ger Games. Rob is less excited because the principal and his mom have roped him into participating. But Katfish is sticking around to help Rob out with girl advice, Fun-ger Games tips, and how to get people to stop hating him. What could go wrong?

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Childrens, Middle Grade, Juvenile, School, Friendship

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Obert Skye read his first book at age two. He wrote his first story at age four. And he was nearly trampled by a herd of water buffalo at age six. For a short time, he lived on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, where he spent time as a candy-taster. Several years ago, Obert Skye says, he discovered the existence of Foo. Publishing his story as a fictional series was not Obert’s first choice. Nevertheless he is content that the “history” is being told.

Hobbies and other interests: Collecting old maps, water polo, roller coasters.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter's review is posted on her blog KK's Books & Reviews :

I saw this at the library and the cover looked cool.

This was funny. The pictures are more like comics, but there's a story too, not just like a graphic novel or comic book. It has paragraphs and a story, but with comics added in. I loved it.

It's really about this guy named Rob and the book is his diary. It kind of reminds me of Dork Diaries, but I think it's funnier. But I also think this is for younger kids than Dork Diaries is. It has more humor, and it's more 4th grade level.

This is his life. Every chapter is a day, and funny stuff happens to him. But Rob and his brother one time went to Rob's friend Rex's house, his mom made him put on homemade sunblock and then Rob's like "is it supposed to stink?" and so they jumped into the pool to wash it off. But it was yellow so it looked like they peed, and a girl was watching them and Rob said, "I bet this looks bad." She said, "You bet right." LOL

One day his dad got him a weird door at a garage sale. It had a brass doorknob with a bearded guy on it that Rob calls Beardy. He thinks Beardy is alive and is bringing to life all the characters from the books in his closet (he never reads, so he hides his books in his closet). That's how Katfish comes to life. I think Beardy invited her.

She helped Rob have a better life and went back into his closet at the end, and then Rob finished Catching Fire. Her advice to him was "Keep Reading."

[Carmen (TheReadingTrashQueen) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3,5

My least favorite of the series (so far?) but still fun!

[Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a decent amount. I liked how long it was and there was a lot of details that put me in the book. This book is part of a series and I have read the other books and will continue to. The genre is a fantasy but barely touches the border of fiction which means fantasy is the more correct answer of the two. I would recommend this book particually in the series to the girls because the main character is a girl. This was probably made for sixth graders and up because its longer than most other books. In all I would give this book a four because the theme has to do with romance but it was still a good book. NO SPOILERS.

[Dinah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay but I still enjoyed reading it. There was some comedy and a little bit of flirts. Katfish is different from the other books in it's series because it included a little romance. This would have been the first girl character and that made me excited.







-WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW-

This story is about a creature coming out of Rob's (main character) closet. The creatures are always from the books he reads. Strangely when he was reading Mocking Jay, Katfish came out. The weird part was that she wasn't a combined creature. But when Rob puts her in a pool she turns part human, mermaid, and fish. Her purpose is to help Rob's love life. Rob liked a girl and lied to her and the his whole school but when everyone found out they were all upset. Even worse, Janae (Rob's crush) kissed him before she figured out about the lie. So, Kat has to help Rob with his relationship with his school and his crush. In a school fair, Kat tells Rob to sing on stage. Then, Kat shoots out the lights with her bow-and-arrow and starts singing a beautiful apology song. No one knows that Kat actually sang the song so they praise Rob and forgive him. Also Janae stops hating and ignoring Rob. Since Kat's goal is complete, she returns to Rob's closet. Rob and one of Rob's friends that liked Kat missed her and got sad. When Kat was about to leave, she kissed Rob's cheek, and also his friend's cheek.
(THE END)



+the next book is about a creature that's part cat (which is the Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss) and part gollum (from Lord Of the Rings by J.R.R.) with mad rhyming skills.

[Ezekiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Katfish by Obert Skye is a book about a character named Rob Burnside who got somebody new from his closet. This new character is a combination of Katniss Everdeen and the mermaid from My Little Mermaid. Rob has made a big mistake in the last book and in this book, Katfish will help Rob overcome these challenges, because Rob made some big mistake, like lying that the school dance will be on TV. Katfish's goal before going back into the closet is to fix everything that Rob has caused, but there are some challenges. Katfish was bigger than all of the other creatures from Rob's closet, so she was harder to hide. But all in all, this book was really good and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and a story shows the life of a teen.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this I had no idea who Katniss was, granted I was nine. But these are great kids reads, it's one of those books that emphasize the importance of books and reading in a fun way.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I went back & forth between "This is so dumb" & "Ok it's funny" the entire time. The drawings are awful/funny awful, & the story is way out there, but the jokes are silly and would be good for upper elementary. I had my 3rd goaded read it (accidentally got him this one instead of book 1), & he loved it. He wants to borrow the others from the library. I think this series is good for kids who like Wimpy Kid or might even be a little young for Wimpy Kid but would like that style. Don't expect brilliance, just look at it as a silly kid read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rob has so many problems. When his unusual closet makes something again. Katfish helps Rob with all his problems.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY GOOD BOOK

[Michaela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute cancer.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this, the fourth title in The Creature from My Closet series, Rob Burnside is still paying for his previous mistakes. The girl on whom he's crushing won't give him the time of day, and his parents no longer trust him. As he and his friend Trevor prepare to embark on a forced musical interlude at the school's Fun-ger Games, he gets a visit and encouragement from Katfish, a combination of Katniss from The Hunger Games, and the Little Mermaid. There are all sorts of hijinks, misunderstandings, near escapes, and good old fun, including food fights as Rob's friends fight to impress the beautiful Katniss. Not only is this book fun, and informative, but it also paints reading in a positive light without becoming overbearing or didactic. For instance, Rob and his buddies want to make sure they know everything they can about Katniss so they read The Hunger Games and its sequel. The passages in which Rob ponders the oddity of reading the same book(s) his mother has read are particularly interesting and funny. Teachers will certainly want to hand this to their reluctant readers who will race through it, and probably clamor for the next title.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

We enjoyed this installment very much. Though, explaining the hunger games to a 3rd grader was a teensy bit difficult. I had to insist that he was not in fact old enough to read the original. But I'm thrilled that he's consistently more interested in longer books!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

In book four of The Creature from My Closet series Rob Burnside is still dealing with the fallout from his last creature experience, and doesn’t know how to get back in the good graces of the girl of his dreams, Janae, not to mention the rest of his school. Luckily, the latest creature to come from his closet, is a little more “normal” and much more useful when it comes to being helpful. Katniss, of the Hunger Games, has charmed all of Rob’s friends and is fierce in her desire to help Rob, even when things begin to change for her unexpectedly. This fun tale of friendship, loyalty, and the desire to make amends is full of humor, good intentions and positive life lessons about never giving up. The comic line drawings do a great job of adding to the enjoyment of the text, and compliment the action.

Kids who like Diary of a Wimpy Kid as well as reluctant readers and book lovers who enjoy allusions to other popular fiction will get a kick out of this series.

This book was a publisher supplied book for review for SWON Libraries.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth installment in the “Creature from My Closet” series. The closet’s fusion storybook creature in this title is Katfish: a combination of Katnis from Hunger Games and Ariel, the Little Mermaid. Even though Rob is a pariah to his family, girlfriend, and almost every student at his middle school since the last book, he and his bros are still on speaking terms. When they meet Katfish, they go into full-on try-to-impress-the-new-girl mode. But Katfish only has designs on Rob, who helps her become a singing sensation. Kat, in turn, gives Rob girl advice and gets him back into the good graces of his family, classmates and his girlfriend. Throw in the Fun-ger Games, a school-wide parody of the Hunger Games, and you have an inviting and humorous story for intermediate and junior high readers. Using the familiar diary format, a la Wimpy Kid, and numerous doodle-like illustrations, the text is snappy and the speech balloon dialogues are often hilarious. This title will appeal to fans of the series and reluctant readers as well.

[Jose Penuelas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katfish from the the creature in my closet series by:Obert Skye

In all the books a creature comes out of a closet and they either mess up Roberts life or help his life,Robert is the main character and the creature is a combination of two characters from different book like katfish the Kat part is katniss from the hunger games and fish is the little mermaid part of her and that creates katfish but there is a face on Robert closet and he named his beardy and he decides if someone comes out of the closet or not.Robert is confused about everything.He lives with his mom,dad,little brother,and his older sister.I think these books have a lesson in each one.There is 247 pages and 5 books(depending when you see this).I recommend this book to kids and to readers who like humor and really funny stories.

[Kellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've enjoyed this series so far, but I didn't like this one as much as the others. I felt The Little Mermaid part was a bit off, since Kat was acting more like Ariel from the film, than the mermaid from the original story. To me, that takes away from the whole idea of these creatures being created from BOOKS that are stuck away in his closet. I actually don't think either of the books were even in Rob's closet!

[NYC Reads 365 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you’re feeling bad about your life in the fifth grade just remember at least you’re not Rob Burnside. He has goofy friends who get him in trouble, a girl he likes who thinks he’s a jerk…and, he also has creatures coming out of his closet that seem determined to wreck his life. This fun book mixes text and graphics to tell a hilarious, goofy story about a regular kid in extraordinary circumstances."

[Jvermeersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geen aanrader als voorleesboek, maar waarschijnlijk wel een goeie voor jonge lezers om zelfstandig te lezen. De korte hoofdstukken en vele cartoons er tussenin zullen hen zeker aanspreken, en het verhaal springt al even hard van de hak op de tak als hun eigen gedachten, waardoor ze er vlot in zullen doorlezen.

[Simran · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is so creative it is so funny I just can not wait for book number 5 it just a book that takes you to a another world the Rob Burnside World and it is so fun in their my friends love these books so I thank Obert Skye for using his creative amgnation and spreading it to the world.

[Oscar Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katfish is a very good book. Rob the main character has a strange closet that spits out mixed up creatures from book that are alive. Katfish is a mixture of Katness from the Hunger Games and the little mermaid. It is a very wacky book and if you like "Diary of a Wimpy kid books."

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eh... I'd like to see all the characters back.

[Jane]

My 9 y.o. loved this.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining quick read-alike with a Diary of A Wimpy Kid flair. This book follows closely after and relies heavily on the events in Book 3 Pinocula so reading them in order is highly recommended.

[Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky series that is a lot of fun.! Obert Skye is such a great author and always comes up with great book series! A quick, fun read that anyone can enjoy!

[Whisper Poet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good alternative for fans of Wimpy Kid. Enjoyable, nice looking book with color and illustrations.

[Steve Owens]

Katfish love

Probably my favorite in the series so far. Skye has a great sense of humor that fits nicely into his stories. Can't wait until book 5.

[Charlize Loayon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katfish by Obert Skye is about a boy named Rob who has a very unique closet that lets creatures out when he is having a big problem.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asher (10yo) read. "Really cool. It's Katniss mixed with the Little Mermaid. Very funny."

[Brookiecookie754 · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the hunger games!!!

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katfish by Obert Skye is a funny book.