Scaly Tale (Ripley RBI, No. 1)

Hidden away on a small island off the East Coast of the United States is a unique school for children who possess a variety of extraordinary talents - that school's name is Ripley High. Located in the former home of Robert Ripley - creator of world-famous 'Ripley's Believe it or Not!' franchise - the school takes in students who all share a secret. Although they may look like ordinary kids, these students all possess extraordinary talents or amazing skills: the ability to conduct electricity, or superhuman strength, or control over the weather - these are just a few of the talents that the Ripley High School students possess.The Florida swamplands are home to all manner of strange phenomena - hungry alligators, wild electrical storms, and recently, sightings of a most unusual creature. Eye-witness accounts of a weird lizard-like animal have spread all throughout Florida and have finally reached the hallowed halls of Ripley High. The top secret agency known as 'Ripley's Bureau of Investigation' - or the RBI - sends their expert team of investigators to Florida to see what they can discover.The RBI accepts only the best and brightest students from among Ripley High's already unique student body and asks them to join this elite agency. Seven teenage agents have proven that they have the best qualifications for membership. Under the guise of being members of a school museum club, these teenagers investigate seemingly unbelievable or outrageous claims in order to discover each case's validity. During their search of the Florida Everglades, these RBI agents will find themselves in the middle of a high-speed airboat chase, a swarm of rats, a mysterious treasure hunt, and facing off against undercover agents from the 'Department of Unbelievable Lies' - or the DUL. Believe it or Not! - this is just a typical day for the members of the RBI!I must say that when Mareena gave this book to me as her 'just because' gift for November, neither of us were really expecting the book that I received. I usually love reading children's books, especially any type of 'fun facts' children's books. This is that type of book, although it does have a good dose of science fiction running through the storyline as well.To be perfectly honest, I don't usually read anything remotely related to the science fiction genre, but I think that children would certainly enjoy reading this particular book. I appreciated that the trivia and fun facts were interspersed throughout the story, and can certainly see children enjoying the main adventurous plot. I give this book an A!Full Disclosure: 'A Scaly Tale' by Kay Wilkins read and reviewed by Mary McGirr, an avid reader and book reviewer from Albany, New York. Many thanks to the book swapping website 'Bookmooch' as I received a copy of this book for free from them. Although, my daughter also downloaded a copy of this book for me from 'Amazon' in September of 2014.

This is the first in the Ripley Bureau of Investigation series, also known as RBI: Fact or Fiction?. The RBI team is made up of a group of teenagers with a wide range of abilities and talents that are quite extraordinary. They are members of the elite and top secret RBI team at their school, Ripley High School, which is located in the home of Robert Ripley (creator of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!) on an island off of the East Coast.The RBI team operates in similar fashion to that of the pals of Scooby Doo, except there’s no dog and only a few investigators are sent on each mission. The selection process for each mission is grounded in the student’s talents and abilities. Those who have the best to offer for each mission are the ones who are sent. Their objective for each mission is to investigate, gather information and determine if it is fact or fiction.In this first installment, the investigators are sent to the swamplands of Florida to uncover the mystery surrounding the strange reports of a lizard-like man. Jack, Zia and Kobe are all assigned to comb the Everglades for another sighting of the larger-than-life lizard.Jack is a 14 year-old from Australia. He grew up on an animal park and has an uncanny bond with animals. He can “talk” with any creature.Zia is a 13 year-old girl who was the only survivor of a tropical storm that destroyed her village. She was a baby then, and as a result of the storm she now has a white streak of hair among her dark locks. She doesn’t fully understand her abilities, but she can predict (and sometimes control) the weather, as well as having magnetic and electrical powers.Kobe is a 15 year-old boy who is the product of two African tribes. He has excellent tracking abilities and is an expert on native cultures around the world. His most illustrious talent, though, is his telepathic abilities: he can tell the entire history of a person or object simply by touching it!Before setting out, the gang is briefed on some high-tech and clever devices designed by their own teacher, Dr. Maxwell, who is the only faculty member who is privy to RBI. Along the way, they run into some devious and dangerous DUL agents who pursue them on airboats through the swampland. The RBI agents get bombarded by a swarm of rats, run into a treasure hunt and at last discover the lizard man.The book includes a breakdown of all the characters in the book, along with their skills and special notes. There is a map of Ripley High School and other cool graphics relating to the investigation throughout the book. The author has set up the book in such a way that it could easily be transitioned into a TV show, with much of the technology-based devices and messages at the ready.The dialogue and action are what make this book! I love the team of agents sent on this mission, and how they all work together to support one another. They are fully involved in solving the mission they have been sent on. This is a great example of teamwork and covers some history, culture and geography related to the region.

This was a pleasant way for an old lady to spend an hour or so. Just the name 'Ripley' conjured up memories of three- legged calves and other oddities that once appeared daily in the newspaper.The story was set up well- a private school with a select few students who had secrets talents, guided by only two teachers who knew shouting those talents. Oh- the school is named after the great Robert Ripley who de-bunked some strange things, yet proved and displayed others.Reply. R. May be dead, but these young people, average age 14, are left to carry on. When something strange happens in the Everglades they don't call the Ghostbusters. Instead the young folks go to bat to find out exactly what's going on. As if the mystery itself wasn't enough, a group called DUL works against them.The best part of the book, besides solving the mystery, is the way trivia is presented every few pages framed in a tablet (with no brand name).This way the legacy of Ripley lives on. You learn a little as you read. Since you're reading about the largest alligator to be swallowed by a snake, you don't mind at all.It was a delightful change of pace for this old lady. I'm pushing 60, but I can still enjoy some light reading.

My 10 year old daughter loved this book, so much so that she now wants me to download ALL the others which is fantastic but this was a free taster and all the other books are £4.99 which is ok but she read the book in one sitting, she says the story is interesting and loved the adventure side of it. she isn't one for recapping in much detail but the fact she wants the rest tells me it was a good book.

It was an awesome book and I would recommend it to 9+ years because ( I'm not afraid of anything ) and yet I got really scared in a few bits but apart from that it was brilliant.I gave in a 5 star rating because in some parts it was scary but the rest of it was really good.All the time I only get free books and they are always better than expensive books !!!

Lovely book! Simply Marvelous!I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was very interesting and adventurous. I would really look forward to reading more books in this series.

This really is a great book because it is quite short but it is a very good, very exiting story.

I liked this book I especially liked the trading cards at the end. They are very very freaky especially the snake and leopard men. The things they had done to them!WOW!!!!