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    Mudshark
    Mudshark
    Mudshark
    Audiobook1 hour

    Mudshark

    Written by Gary Paulsen

    Narrated by Tasso Feldman

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Mudshark is the go-to guy for any mysteries that need solving. Lost your shoe? Can't find your homework? Ask Mudshark. That is, until the Psychic Parrot takes up residence in the school library and threatens to overturn Mudshark's position as the guy who knows all the answers. The word in school is that the parrot can out-think Mudshark. And right now, the school needs someone who's good at solving problems. There's an escaped gerbil running rampant, an emergency in the faculty restroom, and all the erasers are disappearing from the classrooms.

    When Mudshark solves the mystery of who's stealing the erasers, he discovers the culprit has the best of intentions. Now he has to think of a way to prevent the Psychic Parrot from revealing the eraser-thief's identity. With a bit of misdirection and a lot of quick thinking, Mudshark restores order to the chaos . . . just for the moment.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJan 20, 2012
    ISBN9781455810550
    Mudshark
    Author

    Gary Paulsen

    Gary Paulsen (1931–2021) was one of the most honored writers of contemporary literature for young readers, author of three Newbery Honor titles, Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room. He wrote over 100 books for adults and young readers. 

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    Reviews for Mudshark

    3.5/5

    75 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      What I loved about Mudshark was that he was a detective!
    • 3/5
      Almost fell asleep, overall it is great for younger kids!
    • 4/5
      A silly, fanciful, and fun book about a boy who thinks all the time, and remembers where to find lost items.
    • 4/5
      Mudshark pays such close attention to details, pretty soon everyone in the school is asking him to help them solve their problems. And when the school's erasers go missing, the principal is no exception. As Mudshark uses his brain to figure out where all of the erasers have gone, he realizes he has competition: the librarian's new parrot who also seems to know a lot of the school's secrets. Can Mudshark solve the mystery first? This quick story is not only funny (the announcements at the beginning of the chapter made me laugh out loud) but it's a good mystery, too. The readers solves the mystery along with Mudshark (he directs our attention), but the way the story resolves doesn't get shared until the plan is put into play. Very fun!
    • 4/5
      Very funny. Kids will love this and teachers reading it aloud will laugh as well.
    • 3/5
      Fast and entertaining.
    • 3/5
      The humourous tale of a very observant young boy, who takes on a Psychic Parrot as a competitor.
    • 4/5
      Mudshark was an ordinary boy who played a lot of deathball at his school. One day he was sent into the principal’s office. At first he thought he was in trouble, but the principal wanted him to make the Mudshark Detective program to help solve problems at school. He will have to solve disappearing erasers, waffle markings on students’ faces, odd lunch choices, and a gerbil running around the school. Most of Mudshark’s friends were deathball players such as Risdon, and Kyle, but he soon finds out that one of his friends is part of the problem. At the end, Mudshark solves all of the mysteries, but one. It happens to be that a 7th grade science teacher has disappeared and he’s probably still looking for the gerbil.This book will make a great movie! The reason that I think this book can be a great movie is because it has a lot of humor and mystery in it. Another reason is that it should be made into a movie is that deathball can be created into a real recess game. The final reason I think this book can be made into a good movie someday is that I will be the perfect lead actor and I could use the money.
    • 3/5
      Lyle "Mudshark" Williams is 12, and the best problem-solver and finder of lost things at his middle school. His nickname (Mudshark) came from a game of DeathBall (combination of soccer, football, rugby, wrestling and mudfighting) in which he got buried in the mud, and managed to still grab the ball carrier and bring him down. Principal Wagner is busy dealing with a faculty restroom crisis (which keeps getting worse), a belching psychic parrot in the media center, and the theft of every blackboard eraser in the school. To find the mysteriously missing erasers, Principal Wagner calls upon Mudshark, and the results are classic hilarious Paulsen! Jokes and laugh-out-loud moments aboud in this short novel -- perfect for reluctant readers and anyone looking for a fun read. 6th grade and up.
    • 3/5
      Is it me, or does Gary Paulsen seem to be ripping through a very fertile period? These past few years he's released, it seems, two or three books a year and they always slip in under the radar where I find out about them by accident.I was actually trying to remember the title of a book of his I read and liked and came across this as I was scanning the shelves. Being in the mood for a light read, and with a promising flap summary, I took the bait.Lyle Williams is Mudshark, a kid we are told is cool. Cool not so much because he is hip but because his demeanor is calm and detached. When things go missing or problems need to be solved everyone – including adults at school – know to go to Mudshark. So notorious that the day someone tags his locker with a sign proclaiming the Mudshark Detective Agency he simply smiles in acknowledgment.Small problems plaque Mudshark's fellow students - misplaced gym shoes and lost homework folders - but with his keen eye and memory he is able to resolve cases quickly. Larger problems loom as chalkboard erasers go missing, foul odors come from the faculty lounge, and a gerbil has escaped is cage and at large. Complicating matters is a new school pet, a parrot, who appears to possess a psychic ability that threatens Mudshark's place as the school mystery solver. In the end, Mudshark must debunk the parrot, find the missing erasers, and tie up every other mystery in order to retain his title, and his cool factor.Paulsen's pacing is odd. The book seems to meander for the first 38 pages (out of 83) as he sets up all the bits and pieces that will eventually come together in the end. They almost read like vignettes, and yet when the story finally kicks in there isn't a sense that everything actually is tied together, or that it ever will. It isn't that Paulsen is being crafty, its this feeling that none of it matters. The only clear conflict is that Mudshark is going to be replaced by a parrot, and solving that mystery almost gets lost in the shuffle.The mystery to me is why people aren't more upset with Mudshark for his abilities. He is able to find lost items and answer mysteries only because he witnesses them. Which begs the question: if you see a kid drop his homework folder, why not tell him he dropped it? Why wait until he realizes its missing and then play at being a detective when really all you're doing is withholding information until it makes you look good? To that end Mudshark isn't cool, he's manipulative and his powers rely entirely on luck, not skill.Withholding information is key, because Paulsen does that as well. The mysteries presented cannot be solved by the reader (or at least by a smart reader) they can only be solved when Paulsen/Mudshark explain them. Setting up all these careful mysteries at the beginning leaves the reader hoping there's a great puzzle to be solved, but then before clues can be revealed the mystery is solved. Highly unsatisfying.Paulsen does write with a breezy clarity that makes him a first choice for reluctant boy readers, but this wouldn't be one of my first choices.
    • 4/5
      Entertaining book for young readers about a boy who, because of his acute observational skills, is excellent at solving problems of the other kids. Crazy things are happening at school, and it's up to him to figure out what's going on.
    • 4/5
      Another winner by Paulsen. If you are a boy and want a quick read with lots of humor and the kind of guy stuff boys like, this is the book for you.I've always read like a boy so I enjoyed this one.Lyle Williams, otherwise known as Mudshark, is twelve years old and considered very cool. Mudshark is very intelligent and has honed his skills of observation so that he pretty much has a photographic memory. This comes in very handy because he can find anything anyone loses.There are some strange things going on at school and with the appearance of a psychic parrot, things get stranger. Mudshark's principal finally asks Mudshark to help solve the mysteries. You will be very entertained by how Mudshark goes about fulfilling the principal's request. As I said this is short and sweet. It will definitely appeal to those male readers who may not be that thrilled with reading. I think this would be a good read-aloud in a classroom setting. I do believe even the girls would find this funny.It was so quick a read that I found that I wished it would have gone on longer. I also think I would like to read more adventures of Mudshark.
    • 3/5
      Principal Wagner confidently deals with a faculty washroom crisis, a psychic parrot, and a terrorizing gerbil, but when sixty-five erasers go missing, he enlists the help of the school's best problem solver and locator of lost items, twelve-year-old Lyle Williams, aka Mudshark.
    • 3/5
      Mudshark, aka Lyle Williams, is the coolest kid in middle school-- He is the go-to guy for all manner of problems-- where did i leave my homework? how do i get out of band practice, my cat is lost, can you find him, etc. He's not really a genius, he just has very good powers of observation, and in order to keep his position of importance, he starts the Mudshark Dectective Agency and everyone-- even the principal, come to Mudshark for help. In this book ( the first of several, i am sure) Mudshark helps the principal straighten out some problems involving a class mascot, some missing erasers, the custodian's job and the library parrot who talks too much. LIght hearted and clever-- lots of funny observations about school culture-- Paulsen's new series should find lots of popularity, especially among boys.