Cornelius is having the worst zoo trip ever… until one very weird bird turns everything upside down.
Braxton the class pest is ruining the day, Mr. Kirkman is at breaking point, and Cornelius just wants to disappear. Then he meets Oz, a drab looking lyrebird with an unbelievable talent: he can mimic anything he hears—from teachers and chainsaws… to Cornelius’s second most embarrassing fart.
When Cornelius wishes he could be the lyrebird “even for half an hour,” he wakes up to find his wish—or perhaps curse—has come true. Now he’s stuck in a bird’s body, his sneakers have turned into claws, and his own human self is wandering around the zoo, ready to cause chaos.
With only minutes to spare, Cornelius must:
· Figure out how to use Oz’s copying powers.
· Stop Braxton from turning the zoo into a disaster zone.
· Fix things with Gina before she decides he’s totally gross forever.
Disability Own Voices
Middle Grade, Humour, Comedy, Body Swap, Body Switch
About The Author
Roly Nutkins writes funny, fast-moving middle-grade adventures for readers aged 8–12. His Baybridge Body Switchers series follows Cornelius, the world’s most disaster-prone kid, who, after being cursed, keeps swapping bodies with animals and people at the worst possible times.
Expect chaotic animal encounters, embarrassing disasters, wild body swaps, suspicious relatives, and plenty of bad decisions that somehow get even worse. The Cornelius books can be read in any order.
Roly is the pen name for Paul Mahoney, who lives in Brisbane, Australia, where he spends far too much time dreaming up ridiculous situations for Cornelius to survive. A free ebook of Cornelius & the Laughing Lyrebird is available to readers who sign up for his newsletter via his website.
Cornelius has ADHD, like the author. His sometimes sidetracked thinking is part of his character; the body-swapping curse and family chaos are entirely fictional.
