The Lord of the Hat

The Creature From My Closet #5

by Obert Skye

Rob Burnside thinks he's getting the hang of things. It almost seems as if he has learned all he needed to from his unusual closet. Beardy, the doorknob, has it locked up and there are no signs of the closet door opening again.

But something slips from the closet unnoticed and that something is part Gollum, part Cat in the Hat. He's an intense creature with mad rhyming skills. When Rob's family wins a trip to Colorado, something extra makes it into his luggage. Get ready for school fights, train rides, long mysterious hikes, and a creature unlike any of the others. What Rob will discover is epic.

A Christy Ottaviano Book

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Humor, Travel

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2015

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

[Kelly Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cat in the Hat, Gollum from Lord of the Rings, and a family vacation in an RV and on a train = funny and strange adventures. The simple illustrations are not very detailed but add to the humor of the story.

[Liz Hedgpeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 11 yr old boy LOVED these books!!!!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite so far. More of an "ok". We are not even introduced to the closet character until well over half way through. As a matter of fact, this was much more like a Wimpy Kid book than previous books in the series. One good thing was that I found the creature really endearing and he wasn't a problem child like the others. I enjoyed that we got some time with Robert's friend Jack since he's such a hoot. The humor overall was just lukewarm. Not sure if the series has jumped the shark but I am still looking forward to the next one.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm far from being the target market, but these books are quite funny. The creature doesn't put in an appearance for a long time, because he's being Gollum-ish and just following the hero, but that's made up for by the hero's alarming compulsion to speak in Seussian rhymes.

[Fae · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/5 stars!

[Lisa Nester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha ha ha😃

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha :) I loved it! Read the hole series!!!!

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's the lord of the hat. These books made me my book loving self.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read in The Creature from My Closet series. I think it would have helped if I had read the first one, so that I would be familiar with the closet. I don’t know if it would have helped to read the other three that preceded this one, as well. For me, this book was sort of cute but not what I would have read as a child. However, there are people in my family who would have liked it a lot. Based on that, I gave it 4 stars.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asher (11yo) read. "It was really funny. I really liked the creature from the closet, Suessol. He was super funny."

[Ryan J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the funniest in the series it has Gollum's creepiness and Cat in The Hat's rhymes. He tends to steal really important*shiny* things (just like Gollum).

[Pamela Rabon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids will enjoy the mystery of this one.

[Calvin Snyder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously, how wasn’t this guy sued for copyright infringement

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

What's not to like in this, the fifth title in The Creature from My Closet series? Protagonist Rob Burnside has had a bit of a respite from all the creatures who seem to be inhabiting his closet. Just as it seems that he's making headway with Janae, the object of his affections, he also finds that he has an inclination to speak in rhymes, which could be charming or off putting. After Rob's father wins an award for his playground equipment and designs, he rents a RV and takes the family and some friends along for the ride to New Mexico. The trip is filled with the expected humorous moments and mishaps, but the tension is heightened by the arrival of Seussol, a part Gollum (from Lord of the Rings), part cat (from Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat) creature from the closet who has smuggled himself along in order to complete a quest involving rings. Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid may enjoy this one a great deal since it deals with similar issues while also adding an element of fantasy. I especially enjoyed all the rhymes that spouted from Rob's mouth and how different his friends Trevor and Jack are. As the story concludes, many readers will relate to having eaten food that tasted so great at the time but later caused them to be incredibly sick later. What a way to end a trip! While the book isn't for every readers, there are plenty of intermediate and middle grade readers who will gobble this one up and enjoy the references to other books.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really love this series. Nothing better to a reading mom than having your kid ask for extra reading time!!

[Red Goddess Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have loved all of the books in this series except this one! It was over half way through the book before the creature from the closet even appeared and he was barely in the rest of the story. On top of that there was no plot! A big disappointment!

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Yingling is very wrong. So wrong. These books are very funny, but also are good setups for classrooms to investigate. (Note: Do not use Katfish. It is Little Mermaid, which is a children's book, and The Hunger Games, which has swears and is SUPER violent.

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's good because it has a good meaning because in the book
the creature said he had to go on a quest to a mountain and light the rings on fire to make a key to tell when his next creature comes.

[Tif · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Brookiecookie754 · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Julie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuteness!

[Ashley]

I felt like this one was super rushed and we didn't get much interaction with the creature... There was what seemed to be this big piece of information that should have been important but... Wasn't? Anyway... 🤷‍♀️

[Markell Franklin]

going to the mountain and getting stuck in the tunnel.