Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody: The Hat of Great Importance - by Patrick Ness (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In the second book in this wry series, award-winning author Patrick Ness explores school anxiety and the highs and lows of friendship with sidesplitting honesty--and pits our heroes against a slippery new supervillain.

On what should be a normal school day at their normal school--recently rebuilt at great expense by the town's supervillain after her son destroyed it with a giant robot pelican suit--things begin to spin out of control for monitor lizards Zeke, Daniel, and Alicia and Meil the hawk the moment they board the school bus. For no good reason, Zeke is deeply unsettled by Daniel's new pink hat. The tower sprouting on the town's tallest hill surely contains a Death Ray of Death. And Meil's predator instincts have kicked in: what if he accidently eats his friends or their new classmate, Peggy the flounder, in her portable aquarium? At school, Zeke suspects the new guidance counselor--who hails from the same pelican crime family as their nemesis--of turning Daniel and Alicia against him. Or was it something Zeke said? With lively graphic illustrations, breakneck action, and a big heart, book two blends droll satire with belly laughs to prove that when life turns up the heat ray, you get to choose who to be. Even unlikely reptilian heroes need the courage to say they're sorry.

Review Quotes

Once more, Ness offers probing explorations of a prejudiced status quo. . . . Miller's art continues to give every scene a pitch-perfect feel, with illustrations that wring both understated hilarity and pathos from the pages. . . . [A] superior blend of humor and heart.
--Kirkus Reviews

Smart, funny, whimsical, and full of heart, this speaks directly to middle-grade readers' concerns about fitting in, keeping friendships, and navigating the world's unfairness despite well-meaning adults who haven't a clue.
--Booklist

About the Author

Patrick Ness is the author of Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody and the #1 New York Times bestseller A Monster Calls (inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd), which won both the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal, was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, and was made into a major motion picture for which he wrote the screenplay. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed and best-selling Chaos Walking trilogy, More Than This, Release, Different for Boys, The Rest of Us Just Live Here, and Burn. His many accolades include two Carnegie Medals, an Olivier Award, the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the BookTrust Teenage Prize, and the Costa Children's Book Award. Patrick Ness lives in Los Angeles.

Tim Miller is the author-illustrator of Moo Moo in a Tutu;, What's Cooking, Moo Moo?; Tiny Kitty, Big City; and Izzy Paints. He is also the illustrator of Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness, Horse Meets Dog by Elliott Kalan, Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) and Snappsy the Alligator and His Best Friend Forever! (Probably) by Julie Falatko, Margarash by Mark Riddle, and the middle-grade series Hamstersaurus Rex by Tom O'Donnell. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and three rescue cats.