Down in the Dumps #1: The Mystery Box

By Wes Hargis

The Secret Life of Pets meets The Bad Guys in DOWN IN THE DUMPS, an all-new, highly illustrated early chapter book series about three unlikely friends—a rotten banana, a broken tea pot, and a crusty blob of gum—and their adventures together in the local town landfill. 

To Nana, there isn’t a better, more beautiful home for a mushy, moldy banana than the Westerfield Waste Transfer & Recycling Center! Nana loves living at the dump! She welcomes every new piece of trash with a hardy hug and happy hello.

And in The Mystery Box, the first adventure in the Down in the Dumps series, when a Teddy Tedd Ted doll still perfectly wrapped in his gift box arrives, Nana realizes that not everyone is ready to be thrown away. Will Nana and her friends be able to navigate the many dangers of the dump to help Teddy Tedd Ted find his way home?

The Mystery Box is the first book in the Down in the Dumps series from beloved author-illustrator Wes Hargis. It will have even the most reluctant readers taking out the trash for more adventures! 

HarperChapters build confident readers one chapter at a time! With short, fast-paced books, art on every page, and milestone markers at the end of every chapter, they're the perfect next step for fans of I Can Read!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9780062910141

Wes Hargis

Wes Hargis is a cartoonist and the New York Times best-selling illustrator of When I Grow Up, by Al Yankovic. He lives in Safford, AZ. Visit him online at weshargis.com.

Book preview

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Reviews for Down in the Dumps #1

[librarianryan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved everything about this book. The comedy was just right. The book is fully illustrated. It is not a graphic novel, but also not a standard novel, it is a fantastic mix of both. One of the things I really like is that at the end of every other chapter the book tells the reader how many words they read and congratulates them. There is also an indicator at the end of each chapter that shows the reader how far along in the book they are at that moment. What a lovely way to speak to reluctant readers, or those struggling to move beyond learning to read books. Everything about this was great. The only thing to make it superior – full color every page. I will be sure to read book 2 when it comes out.