Big Game

FunJungle #3

by Stuart Gibbs

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Animals, Audiobook

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2015

Reviews

[Zoë]

I deserve an award for the 8 hours I spent suspending my disbelief while reading this.
Can’t defend you anymore Stuart, I really can’t 😔

[Mark Baker]

When someone takes a shot at Rhonda Rhino, security goes on high alert to try to capture the poacher. Teddy once again finds himself caught up in the mystery, but can he find the shooter with Large Marge once again on this tail for something he didn’t do?

It’s always wonderful to be back at this zoo, and the characters are as wonderful as always. The plot is perfectly constructed with everything set up well for a great climax. The issue of rhino poaching is giving a much needed spotlight without slowing things down at all. Middle grade audiences will love it, as will anyone who wants a wonderful mystery.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Katie]

Yay, no animals are significantly harmed in this book! That makes one in a row. I'm also curious whether a crocodile could really eat what one does in this book and not have digestive issues.

[Catie]

The amount of times I was laughing at the end. I love Pancake the Orangutan.

[Heidi]

When I read mysteries one of my favorite things to do is to try to predict the ending, to see if I can figure things out before I get to the end. Interestingly, the books I like the best are the ones that aren't so easy to predict, or the ones that I might get wrong or at least incomplete. That is one of the things that I like the best about the funjungle mysteries by Stuart Gibbs. After reading the first three books, I still haven't been completely right about the guilty parties. And while I did get one of the villains in this book, I was stunned by who the other one turned out to be. And of course, Teddy is entertaining as always, especially when he combines forces with Summer McCracken (Fun Jungle's owner's daughter). And in addition to the fun mysteries and plentiful action, Gibbs also manages to integrate a lot of fascinating animal information into each story.

Teddy manages to get into more trouble than most kids and Marge's, a security guard, efforts to catch him doing something wrong (regardless of whether the evidence points his way or not). And all this trouble certainly complicates his efforts to solve the mystery of who is taking shots at Rhonda, the pregnant rhino. And the additional chaos caused by a vandal breaking into various eateries in the park which leads Marge right to his door gives Teddy another mystery to solve. The various relationships between Teddy and his friends, Teddy and his parents (great relationships--this is one of the few middle grade books where the parents play an important role in the story without interfering in the main character's place in the story), as well as Teddy and Mr. McCracken all play an important role in the story. Another fantastic mystery that middle grade readers are bound to enjoy.

[Beth]

One of my 4th graders recommended this to me, and while I totally get why it would seem amazing to a 4th grader, I sort of had a hard time getting through it! It's very long, in a way I felt it didn't need to be. But it is a cute mystery with a nice message and a super fun setting.

[Jihoon]

All Stuart gibbs books r awesome

[Colin]

This book was awesome and I loved it. Anyone who loves animals, loves FunJungle, or just likes a good mystery book will have tons of fun on this read. I highly recommend this book.

[Anna]

One of the things I very much appreciate about the FunJungle series is their focus on animal conservation. This book was no exception! I learned about animals I'd never heard of and got to read about my favorite animal, the orangutan. Teddy and Summer continued to be the best two characters in this series, although I also enjoyed revisiting some familiar faces!

Belly Up is still my favorite of this series, but I enjoyed reading this book. I had an idea of who the hunter was but didn't connect all the pieces until the end, which was nice! If you like middle grade, animals, mysteries, or all of the above, this book is for you!

[James Biser]

Teddy Fitzroy is forced to solve another crime. Someone has tried to kill a rhinoceros at Fun Jungle. He needs to find out who is the killer and why the animals are in danger. Luckily, he is able to learn everything he needs to. He also finds that romance may be possible for himself and his long-term crush -- Summer.

[Hazel (and Nutsy)]

I loved this book! In the beginning I wasn't sure if I would like it as much as Belly Up, but I think I did. There were a few tiny loose ends that bothered me, but they weren't that bad. Wonderful to teach people about the dangers of poaching.

[Eric]

Teddy must find out who is shooting at the rhino's and Teddy was told to find the shooter.

[Gavin]

ngtfrcvgbhnjuhygfvbhjnnhbn oh yayaaayaayayaayayayayay. 😄😃😃😃😃😃😃😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😁😁😁😀😀😀😉😉😆😆 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😜😜😋😋🐀🔯🗿⛲

[Samuel]

very very good

[Stormi (StormReads)]

This is just a fun kids mystery series that also teaches them about animals.

[Tiah Varner]

Super good! Its such a good book! You can never figure out who the bad guy is and you never see the twists coming!

[Henry Diemer]

All of the clues were one big puzzle. Loved it.

[Jonah G]

Very good book

[Leah Russo]

This book had an amazing, interesting plot that was unique to anything I've read before. The author combines mystery and action with awareness of endangered animals. It was a satisfying read that solved a thrilling mystery.

[Catherine Burleigh]

Read aloud with my kids! Great descriptions of the action, funny, and a mystery that kept you guessing! We all enjoyed it.

[Matilda Voight]

Another great book in the Funjungle series.

[Brooke Shackelford]

My kids and I read this one together and we loved it just as much as books 1 and 2. The characters are silly, the clues are fun and all of the talk about the zoo animals pooping makes them howl with laughter. Onto book #4!

[Jenna Drew]

My son is 11 and finding books that he will like is getting more difficult- the Fun Jungle series is a little below the school's AR level but he likes the animals and the mystery, and the humor, which is a little over the top throughout the whole series. (There is also a very slight romance factor, which is does not like, but is low enough that he can tolerate it).

We liked the first books (we read these together out loud)- the first, a hippo is MURDERED, and in the second, a koala is KIDNAPPED. Those were pretty exciting. In this one, a rhino is shot at, and Teddy is recruited to help solve the crime before any harm comes to the rhinos at Fun Jungle. As an adult, the mysteries are fairly cool, and we are usually surprised by at least one aspect of the story. The investigation usually builds well, and the last few chapters of reveal are pretty exciting. This one, the mystery was a little slow, but we did really enjoy the side story of Pancake the Orangutan. There are also some cool details about the animals in the books, because Teddy grew up in Africa and has some clever ways of telling you facts in clever "did you know" ways.

That being said, this book was over the top. There are poachers and guns in this book, and to some degree they are treated respectfully. It makes a good point that poaching is harmful to the poachers and the wildlife security. The characters tour a big game reserve and learn about big game hunting. Then by the end of the book, the characters use guns in some crazy ways that we were just laughing over- it's a serious suspension of disbelief.

The security guard, Large Marge, is basically a cartoon. She falls over in some desserts and donuts land where her eyes are, and that is the last in a chapter where she continually falls over and gets covered in more and more frosting and cream. Later she also falls in elephant poop, because why not? Even my son was like, really? She is fat and can't drive her security cart. She has been like this, and after Teddy, for three books and is just getting worse. We are hoping she isn't it in the next books because her chapters are a slog. There's only so many times we can read "I'll get yoooouuuu." I think it's supposed to be comedy relief? It's just sooo past that point now.

Overall, my son wants to continue to series. It's silly, the animals are cool, the kids are clever (and about half of the adults act realistically, which is something), and the mysteries are pretty engaging. The same author does the Spy School series, which friends have highly recommended, but my son didn't take to those like he has the animal/Fun Jungle stories.

[James Kull]

This book was flat out amazing! It kept me on my toes right up to the very end! It is another non fantasy ( If a bit unlikely ) book that ended up turning out amazing! If you are a fan of non horror mystery books such as Spy School which happens to be by the same author then you will absolutely love this book. This book is like spy school because it keeps you on your toes and then... In the 2nd to last chapter the ending comes along! A fair warning: If you don't want to stay up late reading because you can't put this book down then this may not be the book for you! Well, you have been warned! This book is about a young detective named Teddy, whose parents work at FunJungle, the theme park, zoo, and playground for one of the world's richest men: J.J. McCracken. Sadly FunJungle hasn't been exactly crime free the last couple of years but Luckily Teddy was there and was able to catch the theif every time! ( don't read the spoiler unless you have read the last two books in the series ). But now there is a worse problem than ever before, someone tried to shoot one of the rhinos and missed by less than a foot. Not just any rhino, this is a pregnant rhino. In addition to this the sniper had to have been a trained professional to take that shot. Will Teddy be able to stop the poacher before it's too late? Or will will the poacher escape with the horn that he appears to want so badly? Have fun reading! :)

[James]

I really enjoyed this book. It had a great plot line and kept involved the whole time I was reading it. There were many plot twists that were very well incorporated. This book is about a kid named Teddy who lives at a zoo because his parents work for the zoo. Someone shoots at the rhino to get the horn (which is worth a lot of money) and Teddy tries to figure out who it is. During this time he still has to deal with having a crush on his best friend while they work together on the case. He ends up figuring out who shot at the rhino before anyone else does and saves the day. I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes fast paced mystery books and loves to be surprised.

[Stephane]

Listen, Riri loves FJ. When we get to the last few chapters, she asks to go to bed early so we can read. Every night, she tries to figure out how long the chapter is in order to see if she can argue her way into reading more than one... (12 pages or less, yes... anything more, no...)

Its growing on me, but 9 books is a big ask...

We skipped #2, so I get why Gibbs is doing what he is doing (dropping hints for folks who might not have read anything yet...) but this process can get a bit heavy at time. Other than that, it's pleasant enough that I don't dread it, and I get to see my girl really enjoying reading so that's certainly a bonus...

[Nathan D]

Fun jungle the bigest zoo in the worled had already had a hippo died and a kawala stolen. But now teddy Fitzroy has to solve a mother myster, some one took a shot at on of the the rinos but not just any rino this one was... Will teddy sole the rino mystery? Read big game to field out.
test
This book wold be good for people you love animals.
This book reminded me of space case. It is also a book by stout gibes I highly recommend it to people who like this book and sip school!!
-Nathan D

[Charlie.K.DE]

The Big Game was an amazing funny action packed book written by the one and only Stewart Gibbs. The book takes place at the Fun Jungle in Teddy's little town. He works at the Fun Jungle and takes care of the animals. When the word gets out that the Rionda Rhino is pregnant a very suspicious poacher tries to kill Rionda! Will Teddy save Rionda? you will have to read the book to find out. I would recommend this book to people who like action packed funny mysteries. (this book is the 3rd in the Fun Jungle series). To see the 1st Fun Jungle go to JulienDE to see his review.

[Bella Adishian]

This book was very intriguing and hooks the reader very quick. The story has a great plot. If someone is looking for a mystery book, try reading this one! The characters are so courageous and outgoing. It may look like a huge chapter book, but once you start reading, you can’t stop. Since it’s a mystery book, look out for interesting clues. The killer is not who you think it is.

[Chad CG]

1st READING (3.5)

I really like this detective style book taking place within the context of a zoo. There’s some good humor and emotion in the book, and the mystery felt much more compelling than the first book. I don’t feel having not read the second book changed my experience at all.

2nd READING (3.3)

eh, the kids really like it...