An hilarious, edge-of-your seat read. Animal lovers everywhere will love this great story about dangerous creatures which also gives a behind the scenes look at how the worst TV shows are made. Wahoo’s Dad has a great collection of animals which he lets out for work in films and TV. Dad knows everything there is to know about his creatures and Wahoo is pretty skilled too. When they are approached by a huge hit TV show to provide some dangerous creatures they agree – on their own terms. But neither Wahoo nor Dad had accounted for how you deal with a man like Derek Badger, the vain front-man of the show. Hilarious things happen as Derek tries his luck against several animals – including wrestling with an alligator – and there are no prizes for guessing who gets chomped!
In this hysterical #1 New York Times bestseller, one kid has to wrangle gators, snakes, bats that bite, and a reality show host gone rogue! This is Carl Hiaasen's Florida-where the creatures are wild and the people are wilder!
When Wahoo Cray's dad-a professional animal wrangler-takes a job with a reality TV show called Expedition Survival!, Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself to keep his father from killing Derek Badger, the show's inept and egotistical star. But the job keeps getting more complicated: Derek Badger insists on using wild animals for his stunts; and Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna-a girl who's sporting a shiner courtesy of her father and needs a place to hide out.
They've only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up with a gun . . .
It's anyone's guess who will actually survive Expedition Survival. . .
"Only in Florida-and in the fiction of its native son Carl Hiaasen-does a dead iguana fall from a palm tree and kill somebody." -New York Post
"Chomp is a delightful laugh-out-loud sendup of the surreality of TV that will be enjoyed by readers of all ages." -Los Angeles Times
'Hiaasen’s best for a young audience since Newbery Honor Hoot (2002) features a shy, deep-feeling protagonist who’s also a pragmatist and plenty of nature info and age-appropriate cultural commentary. Humorous adventure tales just don’t get any more wacked…or fun to read than this.' Kirkus
'..one thing is sure: you will never, ever, ever watch another one of those man-in-the-wilderness survival shows the same way!' The Bookbag
'..one of the funniest writers around, of mysteries or otherwise, with a brilliant eye for all that’s quirky in both character and situation' - Criminal Element blog
Author
About Carl Hiaasen
Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida. He is the author of ten novels for adults, including Skinny Dip, Sick Puppy, Lucky You, Stormy Weather and Basket Case. His first novel for younger readers, Hoot, was a bestselling success and Scat reached no. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list. He also writes a twice weekly metropolitan column for the Miami Herald.
