New Releases by Bruce Hale

Most folks know him as the best lizard detective at Emerson Hicky Elementary, but it''s not all knuckles and know-how with Chet Gecko. He''s also got his artistic side. If it wasn''t for his art, he might never have been sent to Principal Zero''s office, where he stumbled onto the mystery of Mr. Nice. Because whatever you can say about Principal Zero, one thing is certain: He is not nice. Until now. Chet knows something is wrong with this picture, and he''s just the gecko to solve this mystery. After all, who do you think put the art in smart aleck?

Sometimes even sidekicks have to step up. Here''s the thing: Zeke''s busy being the so-called Prince of Underwhere. His prissy sister, Stephanie, is some sort of pirate queen. But Hector? Everyone treats him like a joker and a sidekick. Well, those days are over. Now only Hector can save the day—if he can survive the swarms of sharp-beaked midget flying dinos, smart-aleck flying horses, angry armies in their undies, a really, really bad hypnotist, and a duel with deadly toilet plungers. . . all the ordinary wedgie weirdness of the tighty-whitie world under our own.

Stephanie has a whole underwear drawer full of trouble. A week ago, Stephanie''s biggest problem was finding enough time to complete her homework and study for her Mathletes competition. Now, thanks to her big-mouth brother, Zeke, she has to deal with magical toilet brushes, sinister talking cats, nearsighted sea serpents, singing custodians, feminist pirates, runty freedom fighters, and all the cottony-white weirdness of Underwhere—the world beneath our own where people wear their undies on the outside of their clothes.

Riotous and inventive, this first entry of a cheeky new series is part regular novel, part comic book, and entirely hilarious. Aboveground, the novel is told in traditional prose. But in Underwhere, the story takes the form of a graphic novel. Illustrations.

Chet Gecko is hired by Principal Zero to investigate the disappearance of valuable items from Emerson Hicky Elementary--including Mama Gecko''s pearls.

When the new penguin at school turns out to be a private eye, Chet Gecko confronts not only a devious sparrow but also his own jealousy.

Right in the middle of a run-of-the-mill case, the powers that be finger Chet''s fine-feathered partner, Natalie Attired, as a no-goodnik blackmailer and boot her out of Emerson Hicky quicker than you can say, “Boot her out of Emerson Hicky.” Chet, of course, tackles the case for free. Mess with his partner, mess with—well, somebody. (Natalie''s the brains of the outfit.) But just when Chet thinks he might clear her name, Natalie disappears, leaving behind a reddish smear that looks kind of like cherry ladybug jam. . . . Is it murder, or something serious?

Chet and his partner, Natalie Attired, investigate a cheating ring at Emerson Hicky Elementary school.

Moki the surfing gecko learns the value of friendship when a wise old Menehune man helps him catch the biggest wave in the world and asks for an important favor in return.

To save his own skin, private eye Chet Gecko sets out to solve the mystery of Emerson Hicky Elementary School''s disappearing football players.