Chapter Book Review: Monday — Into the Cave of Thieves (Total Mayhem 1) by Ralph Lazar

Posted on September 14, 2021 at 6:39 am by Gene Ambaum

Monday — Into the Cave of Thieves (Total Mayhem 1) by Ralph Lazar. Scholastic, 2021. 9781338770377. 208pp.

So much of what makes this book great appears in the almanac, including Lazar’s illustrations! It’s available at http://total-mayhem.com/almanac/ I recommend just going there and reading the entries on the Devil-Cat, Scallywags, the Backpack-Ladder, and the Grobsnot. You’ll know if this book is for you or someone you love. (Part of the almanac is also printed at the end of the book.)

11-year-old Dash Candoo sits down for breakfast when his KB-15 alerts him to nearby danger. Outside his front door are three Wrestle-Scallywags and the two-tailed Devil Cat. They battle. Then dash heads for school and more Total Mayhem Situations. His first class: Vegetables. The lesson: learning Broccolish. The problem: Devil Cat tries to steal his teacher’s world famous giant carrot. And that’s just the start of a day that includes so much more mayhem.

Warning: the first page of the book says if you read the book in one go you’ll get a treat from the nearest adult. (I think the book itself is enough of a reward, but if I was working in a school library I’d keep a bowl of candy nearby.)

The second book in the series, Tuesday — The Curse of the Blue Spots, is already available.