Commended, Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Historical Fiction It's September 1963 when Rex is blindsided by some unexpected news. His family is moving again—just to the other side of the city, as it turns out, but it might as well be the other side of the moon as far as Rex is concerned. In desperation, he secretly starts taking public transit back to his old school—a plan that works just fine until he runs out of money. When his sister Annie catches him stealing change from his mum's purse, sisterly blackmail becomes another problem. Not only that, but Rex has got on the bad side of Spew, the hockey thug bully from his old school, and Spew and his sidekicks Puke and Dribble are out to get Rex—and they know where he lives. Rex ends up using his wits and lively imagination to get himself out of his pickle, with some sobering and surprising consequences.

In sixth grade now, the wildly imaginative Rex Zero and his friends hatch a plan to replace Miss Garr, the substitute teacher from hell, and Rex takes on the persona of none other than "Dr. Love." Of course, events spin hilariously out of control. Miss Garr's cruel behavior is a mystery to Rex. But then, Rex's world is full of mysteries! There's the beautiful woman in white. Why does she have a black eye? There's the little black book filled with names. Who could it belong to? And why has Rex's father hidden a letter that "Mein Liebchen"? Could all these things have something to do with the mystery of love? Underneath all of this is the age-old question of how to stand up and be a man. For if, as Rex's dad says, "a man's got to do what a man's got to do," how does Rex know what to do and when to do it? Delightfully eccentric characters, humorous scenes of well-intended plans gone awry, a finely crafted plot interwoven with serious themes about love and war―this new Rex Zero is a gem! Rex Zero, King of Nothing is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Why does everyone seem so scared? That's what the new boy in town, Rex Norton-Norton, aka Rex Zero, wonders as he rides his bike through Ottawa's streets. Is it spies? Kidnappers? Or is it because of the shadowy creature some say is stalking Adams Park? One thing is certain in this summer of 1962 as the Cold War heats nothing is quite what it seems. What's a boy to do? If his name is Rex Zero and he has a bike he calls "Diablo," five wild and funny siblings, an alpha dog named Kincho, a basement bomb shelter built of old Punch magazines, and a mind that turns everything inside out, he's bound to come up with an amazing idea. With its mystery, adventure, laugh-out-loud scenes of family chaos, and underlying message of hope, this wonderfully original novel explores the impact of doomsday on the imagination of one smart and funny twelve-year-old boy. And more Rex Zero adventures are promised! Rex Zero and the End of the World is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.