October 20, 2026 by Harry N. Abrams
Ohio E Book Library copy
If you want to know what goes on in the book, complete with spoilers, read on. If you want to be surprised, don't! I read this VERY quickly, so if I makes mistakes with names or events, please feel free to correct me.
After years of bullying his best friend, Rowley, Greg is suddenly concerned about being bullied himself. With bullies like Zander "Z-Rex" Wrexham roaming the hallways, he develops elaborate plans for survival, with flight always being his reaction. Greg isn't the most bullied kid in the school; that honor belongs to Jarrett Jollifee. Greg plots out all of the doorbell cameras in his neighborhood, pretends to talk on a cell phone so no one bothers him, and even hides an emergency "go bag" in the ceiling tiles in the boys' bathroom, just in case he needs to leave the country. You'd think antibullying month at school would help, but it doesn't, and Greg's mom is embracing the philosophy that he needs to learn to problem solve on his own, so she's no help. Greg does have a few other concerns; Mr. Finch and Miss Starling are dating, and he often carries notes to Miss Starling; he and Rowley play Magick and Monsters, a Dungeons and Dragons type game where Rowley is Targor Ironhide, a dwarf warrior; and he thinks a lot about animal adaptations and how he could change his ways to better survive. He starts keeping a notebook of all of the bullies in school, their strengths and habits, and details about when they bully others. Greg also gets involved in a birding club, but tries to talk them into watching for bullies instead. This is briefly successful until Mr. Finch and Miss Starling get involved as advisors and plan a field trip to a bird sanctuary. When Greg accidentally switches binders with Mr. Finch, things get interesting. The binder is turned over to the principal, and kids get called down to the office and put into detention. Greg doesn't want the bullies to connect him to the binder, so gets himself sent to the principal for chewing gum and gets his binder back. He recycles all of the pages in the office, but when the recycling is emptied, pages blow everywhere. The bullies try to locate the "Snitch", and Greg is so afraid that he even tries karate lessons but is quickly kicked out. Z-Rex hires Greg to investigates the identity of the Snitch, but Ryland (another bully) hires Alex, and when the bullies think that ROWLEY is the snitch, a fight is planned between Z-Rex and Rowley. Everyone in school shows up to the stadium, and Rowley chickens out at the last minute, leaving Greg in the line of fire. Luckily, Rowley literally throws a towel at Z-Rex, taking him down just long enough for the Birding Club to arrive to save the day. Jarret gives a speech about kindness, and everyone thinks he is a hero. Mr. Finch and Miss Starling get married, and the school culture changes. The bullies have nothing to do, so Greg reads them picture books at recess, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Tarshis, Lauren. I Survived The Night of the Lions, 2025
After years of bullying his best friend, Rowley, Greg is suddenly concerned about being bullied himself. With bullies like Zander "Z-Rex" Wrexham roaming the hallways, he develops elaborate plans for survival, with flight always being his reaction. Greg isn't the most bullied kid in the school; that honor belongs to Jarrett Jollifee. Greg plots out all of the doorbell cameras in his neighborhood, pretends to talk on a cell phone so no one bothers him, and even hides an emergency "go bag" in the ceiling tiles in the boys' bathroom, just in case he needs to leave the country. You'd think antibullying month at school would help, but it doesn't, and Greg's mom is embracing the philosophy that he needs to learn to problem solve on his own, so she's no help. Greg does have a few other concerns; Mr. Finch and Miss Starling are dating, and he often carries notes to Miss Starling; he and Rowley play Magick and Monsters, a Dungeons and Dragons type game where Rowley is Targor Ironhide, a dwarf warrior; and he thinks a lot about animal adaptations and how he could change his ways to better survive. He starts keeping a notebook of all of the bullies in school, their strengths and habits, and details about when they bully others. Greg also gets involved in a birding club, but tries to talk them into watching for bullies instead. This is briefly successful until Mr. Finch and Miss Starling get involved as advisors and plan a field trip to a bird sanctuary. When Greg accidentally switches binders with Mr. Finch, things get interesting. The binder is turned over to the principal, and kids get called down to the office and put into detention. Greg doesn't want the bullies to connect him to the binder, so gets himself sent to the principal for chewing gum and gets his binder back. He recycles all of the pages in the office, but when the recycling is emptied, pages blow everywhere. The bullies try to locate the "Snitch", and Greg is so afraid that he even tries karate lessons but is quickly kicked out. Z-Rex hires Greg to investigates the identity of the Snitch, but Ryland (another bully) hires Alex, and when the bullies think that ROWLEY is the snitch, a fight is planned between Z-Rex and Rowley. Everyone in school shows up to the stadium, and Rowley chickens out at the last minute, leaving Greg in the line of fire. Luckily, Rowley literally throws a towel at Z-Rex, taking him down just long enough for the Birding Club to arrive to save the day. Jarret gives a speech about kindness, and everyone thinks he is a hero. Mr. Finch and Miss Starling get married, and the school culture changes. The bullies have nothing to do, so Greg reads them picture books at recess, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Strengths: This seemed a little different from the other installments in that there were a lot of characters and plot points that ended up being picked up later in the story and being important. Most of the time, something like Rowley having a character named Targor would be mentioned once and never brought up again, but it's the one thing that ties him (and therefore Greg) to the notebook. Jarrett and his Kindness Klub are mentioned early on, and then really take over the end of the book. There was even a clever bit with Mr. Finch and Miss Starling being the Birding Club advisors. There's still a lot of random events thrown around, but children seem to love this non sequitur, anecdotal style. We don't see too much of Greg's family, which helps focus the story on school events. Greg is portrayed as a little less psychopathic, and even seems to have picked up a reading habit. Most of all, Greg's adventures don't seem to repeat themselves and still feel fresh. There's also a shout out to Tarshis' I Survived series with a made up series Greg enjoys called "I Ran Away From...".
Weaknesses: Are there still antibullying initiatives in schools? Yes. But real bullying isn't so much wedgies and stealing lunch money as it is nasty whispers. There are several other things that don't seem realistic, like cameras in classrooms and parents attending school with their children, Greg getting sent to the principal for chewing gum, and teachers being prohibited from dating. There's a huge crowd for the fight on school grounds? Are these ideas funny? Sure. The beginning of the book is extremely frenetic, but things do settle down into something that almost resembles a plot for a bit.
What I really think: The Wimpy Kid books are all the proof we need that I am not ACTUALLY a twelve year old boy. I don't really enjoy them at all, but I am not the target demographic. Actual tweens still love these. Because I won't have a copy for a while, I told my sixth grade classes how to check the book our from the Ohio Digital Library, and a half dozen got out their Chromebooks and checked out copies on the spot!
Weaknesses: Are there still antibullying initiatives in schools? Yes. But real bullying isn't so much wedgies and stealing lunch money as it is nasty whispers. There are several other things that don't seem realistic, like cameras in classrooms and parents attending school with their children, Greg getting sent to the principal for chewing gum, and teachers being prohibited from dating. There's a huge crowd for the fight on school grounds? Are these ideas funny? Sure. The beginning of the book is extremely frenetic, but things do settle down into something that almost resembles a plot for a bit.
What I really think: The Wimpy Kid books are all the proof we need that I am not ACTUALLY a twelve year old boy. I don't really enjoy them at all, but I am not the target demographic. Actual tweens still love these. Because I won't have a copy for a while, I told my sixth grade classes how to check the book our from the Ohio Digital Library, and a half dozen got out their Chromebooks and checked out copies on the spot!
September 15, 2026 by Scholastic Inc.
E ARC provided by Netgalley
After Dylan injures his arm playing baseball at home in Boston, he travels with his much older sister, Maya, who is the social media influencer behind Maya's Wild Life. Their destination? Botswana! Accompanied by a local driver, Tito, they learn about the lions in the area. Of particular interest in Mogolo, who is in charge of his pride, and the younger Kotsi brothers, who need to strike out on their own and find a pride that they can take over after defeating the leader. When Mogolo shows up on videos as having been caught in a wire, the team heads out to try to help him, and Dylan and Maya are allowed to come along. Unfortunately, on the return trip the plane they are traveling in crashes, and Maya shatters her leg. The pilot, Rik, is badly burned, and the plane explodes! Dylan has been warned the the night belongs to the predators, so he is very cautious when he tries to get water from a lagoon. When the Kotsi brothers see him, will he and his group be able to survive the night?
Strengths: The I Survived books are popular with 6th graders in my building, and this 26th tale is part of a new series, Wildlife Adventures. It's more like the Gary Paulsen World of Adventure books; quick, interesting, and short. I wish I had the whole series of these, since the two I do have are quite worn out. Young readers who want to be influencers will be enthralled by Maya's lifestyle, and there's some sympathy for Dylan after injuring his arm. There are notes and pictures on Tarshis' own trip to Botswana as well as facts and a bibliography, making this informative as well as exciting.
Weaknesses: This was not a personal favorite of mine. I didn't much care for Dylan or Maya, and the ending was very sudden. There was very little surviving, and Dylan didn't get to do much that contributed to the group's rescue.
Strengths: The I Survived books are popular with 6th graders in my building, and this 26th tale is part of a new series, Wildlife Adventures. It's more like the Gary Paulsen World of Adventure books; quick, interesting, and short. I wish I had the whole series of these, since the two I do have are quite worn out. Young readers who want to be influencers will be enthralled by Maya's lifestyle, and there's some sympathy for Dylan after injuring his arm. There are notes and pictures on Tarshis' own trip to Botswana as well as facts and a bibliography, making this informative as well as exciting.
Weaknesses: This was not a personal favorite of mine. I didn't much care for Dylan or Maya, and the ending was very sudden. There was very little surviving, and Dylan didn't get to do much that contributed to the group's rescue.
What I really think: I will probably buy a copy of this while I can get it in hardcover, since it will get a lot of use. I can see this being a book that lures some of my students into reading other historical adventures.
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