Everybunny Loves Magic

The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter #3

by Aaron Reynolds

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Aaron Reynolds comes the third hilariously macabre mystery in The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter series.My name is Rex Dexter.  Yes. THAT Rex Dexter. The one cursed with the ability to see and talk to dead animals. The solver of atrocities against the four-footed. The savior of the flipper-finned. Save your standing ovation for later, because I have bigger things on my mind. Rabbits. Specifically, dead rabbits.  And not just anybunny. This particular gaggle of rabbits once belonged to the Astounding Isabel, Middling Falls’ foremost birthday party magician. One thing has quickly become clear…somebunny hates magic. Whoever it is, they’re attempting to put the Astounding Isabel out of the birthday biz for good. And they’re willing to whack a whole lotta bunnies to do it. It’s a cold cruel world out there. But don’t worry. I’m on the case. And so is Darvish. And Drumstick. And possibly several dozen rabbits. The point is, nobunny pulls one over on Rex Dexter…and his best friend…and his dead chicken.Nobunny.

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

214 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Aaron Reynolds is a New York Times Bestselling Author of many highly acclaimed books for kids, including Dude!, Creepy Carrots!, Creepy Pair of Underwear!, Nerdy Birdy, and tons more. He frequently visits schools and his highly participatory presentations are a blast for kids and teachers alike. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife, two kids, four cats, and between three and ten fish, depending on the day.

(source: Amazon)

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful conclusion to a, for me, unexpectedly lovely series. I picked this series up totally on a whim and both my child and I have absolutely adored it. The first book was still the best story in my opinion, the second was great and, story-wise, this one probably ranked last for me BUT...the conclusion. It was just so good.

Not in a bad way but this is officially the first book that made my kid cry. It wasn't bad at all and I would discourage anyone from reading it for that reason...it was just that beautiful moment where you see the emotional impact books can have. As a reader myself, it was a huge moment for me and this book will always hold a place in my heart for that reason. What a great experience that I am so glad to have been able to share with my daughter. Aaron Reynolds is now a new favorite for us for sure!

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the series and I’m afraid it’s the last! Rex suddenly is sharing his room with Drumstick and a fluffle of rabbits! All they remember is going into the magicians hat and then they were at Rex’s. Rex, his best friend Jarvis and Drumstick attempt to solve the crime. At the end of the book…have Kleenex ready. 😭😭😭

[Amber Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so sad this series is over, and I had to say goodbye to so many loveable characters! Aaron Reynolds is just brilliant. This hilarious middle grade trilogy is definitely going down as one of the funniest series I've ever read. I plan on recommending it to middle schoolers in the library from now on.

[Jen T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not crying, you're crying! Is this possibly the last book of this series. My daughter loves them so much. I mentioned before that the audio versions are amazing and the narrator they have reading is the best. We will be listening to these books again.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book!

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

We loved the ending to this series! Funny, relatable and good clean fun. This author knows how to make kids and parents laugh with his wit. Can’t wait to read his next chapter book series!!!

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I didn't read the first two which put me at a disadvantage. Basically picked this up because I needed a bunny on the cover for a reading challenge and I can say this did not encourage me to get the other two (i gave it three stars thinking maybe it would be better had I read the others).

Now to be fair, it wasn't bad but I found Rex to be utterly obnoxious. Imagine if you will, an eleven year old Sherlock Holmes or Sheldon Cooper...only he's nowhere near as smart as he thinks. And Rex does have his Watson/Leonard. Poor Darvish withstands a lot of belittling and verbal nonsense from Rex, more than any friend should. I'm assuming Rex talking out his butt thinking he's a master sleuth (and usually being wrong) is the 'funny' part of this.

What sets Rex apart from Sherlock and Sheldon is he has a paranormal power. He sees and talks to dead animals (who talk like humans to him). He has Drumstick a dead chicken who is his constant companion. Rex doesn't like this ability but he's stuck for now.

In this he's swamped with dead bunnies who died suffocated in a magician's hat. He and Darvish try to get to the bottom of the bunny deaths all the while having to play a murder mystery at school too. Mostly Rex theatrically accuses people while ignore Darvish's more sensible approach (and waxing poetically at how far Darvish has come and how much further he has to go as an investigator).

Also a beaten into the ground trope in this is Rex's 'manhood' and insistence on coffee (that he actually doesn't like but assumes makes him a man). Meanwhile Darvish is far more mature than he.

Was it funny? Not really but I AM not the age group this is aimed at (I divide middle grade books into ones kids in the age group will enjoy and ones that adults and kids alike would like. I put this in the first category). Was the mystery satisfying? No, I'm not sure you could actually solve this? Was it a good ending for the series? You know, I want to say yes even without seeing the rest of the series because it does feel like it wrapped everything up.

[Danielle Hammelef · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to buy this book after loving the first two in this series. This one maintains the level of silliness and outrageous antics of Rex and his "sidekick" Darvish. And I now love Drumstick more than ever. This was another fun book in what I hope is not the last of the series, but if it is, this was a fun one with lots of smiles and laughs and I would highly recommend it to all middle grade readers. The illustrations throughout add so much to the story and are adorable.

[Pilppu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iltasatuna luettu pojalle (10v). Poika olisi toivonut neljättä osaa, minusta oli ihan hyvä, että sarja loppui. Hahmot olivat edelleen hyviä, mutta tarinat alkoivat toistaa itseään. Huumori oli hyvää. Täydellinen lopetus sarjalle, kun Rex sai vihdoinkin haaveilemansa koiran ja Koipinuija pääsi jatkamaan matkaa kohti tacon hajua.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible ending to an astounding trilogy. If you read my review for Book 1, you already know that this series is hilarious… even for adults, but with this conclusion, I have to admit that I also cried. Good tears. Everybunny loves a good book and this series is magical.

[Henry MacMillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overall

It was great and the ending made me satisfied for the most par as well as the detective work being good, but it was sort of predictable in most cases

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, fast, engaging. Not my favorite of the series, but it ended with a heartwarming scene.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook

Love this series! So entertaining! Hope it continues.

[Lauren Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't expect a kids book about a dead chicken to make me cry but here we are. Very cute and funny series with a great finish.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third book in the series is as good as the other two! I really enjoyed seeing how Rex helped the dead animals get to "the other side" safely!

[Rebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and entertaining book for a family road-trip.

[Corrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great continuation (end?) of the series. The kiddo and I both enjoyed it.

[Tam Newell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third and final book in the series. The vocabulary words in these books are amazing. Read book one as a read aloud…kids are clamoring for the rest of the series.

[David M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Middle Grade] One of the best children's series I've read recently. Purely entertaining. As I've said before, would be a great resource for teaching vocabulary in a fun and engaging way. (Glad Rex grew up at least a little bit in the end, and became a little less self-centered.)

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a summer book club pick with my 10 year old daughter. So funny and completely charming. I think many of the jokes went over her head, but I literally laughed out loud at parts. Well done. I need to go back and tread the other two now