“My story starts with a dream.”

From Aaron Reynolds’ The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter.

Dog lover Rex wants nothing more than to have a pet dog, but unfortunately his parents have missed his countless subtle hints. When his birthday arrives, Rex is thrilled to receive a box with air holes, but when he finds his new pet chicken inside, Rex is not really feeling it. On the trip to the pet store with the chicken and his human best friend, Darvish, Rex spots a Reaper’s Curse arcade game. While Rex is losing the game against the Grim Reaper, the chicken is tragically killed, but when the dead chicken shows up in Rex’s room to talk to him, the boy realizes that the Reaper’s Curse was more than just a game. While nobody else can see or hear the chicken–which Rex names Drumstick–Rex is able to convince Darvish of what’s happening to him. While Rex tries to figure out how to get Drumstick to move on, he is shocked when a dead rhinoceros from the local zoo shows up asking Rex for help proving that her death wasn’t an accident. As more dead animals keep finding Rex for closure, he and Darvish search for a way to break the Grim Reaper’s curse before he’s overrun with the zoo’s recently-departed residents.

This hilarious fantasy novel offers a quick and easy original series opener. Similar in tone to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Timmy Failure books, young readers will find themselves easily drawn to the story. The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter is a fun read that will keep readers captivated until the very end.