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Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizards in the Fridge
Liz's house is like a zoo. Thanks to her dad, a zoologist, there are turtles in the kitchen, an ibex in the backyard, a hawk in the shed, a sun porch full of lizards—and Fred the ferret.
Liz has had enough! At school, her nickname is Lizard. Her classmates think she's weird and her friends are afraid to go to her house. With problems like those, how is she ever going to win the election for class president?
Liz tries her hardest, but she runs into one disaster after another. So she makes the startling decision—the animals must go. Even Fred, her pet ferret. That will make all the difference in the world...won't it?
Liz has had enough! At school, her nickname is Lizard. Her classmates think she's weird and her friends are afraid to go to her house. With problems like those, how is she ever going to win the election for class president?
Liz tries her hardest, but she runs into one disaster after another. So she makes the startling decision—the animals must go. Even Fred, her pet ferret. That will make all the difference in the world...won't it?
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Bill Wallace
85 books185 followersBill Wallace was an American teacher and later an author of children's books. He started writing to quiet down his fourth grade students, who loved his stories and encouraged him to make “real” books.
Bill Wallace grew up in Oklahoma. Along with riding their horses, he and his friends enjoyed campouts and fishing trips. Toasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories to scare one another, and catching fish was always fun.
Bill Wallace has won numerous children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.
Bill Wallace died from Lung cancer on January 30, 2012.
Former elementary school teacher; West Elementary School, Chickasha, OK, principal, since 1977, and physical education teacher. Speaker at schools and universities in various states, including State University of New York and University of South Florida.
AWARDS:
Bluebonnet Award from Texas Association of School Librarians and Children's Round Table and Sequoyah Children's Book Award from Oklahoma State Department of Education, both 1983, Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Nebraska Golden Sowers Award from Nebraska Library Association, 1985, all for A Dog Called Kitty; Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Pine Tree Book Award, 1985, both for Trapped in Death Cave.
Bill Wallace grew up in Oklahoma. Along with riding their horses, he and his friends enjoyed campouts and fishing trips. Toasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories to scare one another, and catching fish was always fun.
Bill Wallace has won numerous children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.
Bill Wallace died from Lung cancer on January 30, 2012.
Former elementary school teacher; West Elementary School, Chickasha, OK, principal, since 1977, and physical education teacher. Speaker at schools and universities in various states, including State University of New York and University of South Florida.
AWARDS:
Bluebonnet Award from Texas Association of School Librarians and Children's Round Table and Sequoyah Children's Book Award from Oklahoma State Department of Education, both 1983, Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Nebraska Golden Sowers Award from Nebraska Library Association, 1985, all for A Dog Called Kitty; Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Pine Tree Book Award, 1985, both for Trapped in Death Cave.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Want to read
May 18, 2008This was my absolute favorite book as a kid....let's see if it holds up. Granted the cover was much better on my version, aka a ridiculously 80's girl holding a frozen lizard by the tail as if she were about to accidentally eat it like an icecream pop. Don't think I would have ever picked it up with this current cover.
March 11, 2014
I gotta say I only picked up this book because it involved a ferret. (It's super rare to find a book that speaks of ferrets in a positive way, so I was pleasantly surprised. I was reading and expected low expectations.) Part of me thought the writing was a little cheesy at first, but hey, it's geared towards younger kids.
The story does pick up more when Elizabeth puts her presidential campaign into full gear from the urging of her friend Sally. Elizabeth is frustrated because of the overwhelming amount of animals in her house because of her father's career as a zoologist. She is considered unpopular because most kids are afraid to visit her house because of the animals. They call her "Liz-ard". In order to have the best chance possible in terms of winning back her friends and the election, she voices her opinion to her father and he gets rid of them. It happened so quickly and it does frazzle Elizabeth. She eventually realizes how the animals taught her lessons despite not being able to talk. She ends up ditching her old speech about how she got rid of the animals and how her house is now "normal" into why she has so many animals and how they've taught her things. Her speech warmed my heart and she does get the animals back.
I think my favorite part of the book is how she considers Fred the ferret her closest animal friend despite how they pick each others' buttons. Their interactions are written quite hilariously. I felt myself panicking reading how neighbors thought Fred was a rat chasing her when Elizabeth was exercising with him. They wanted to kill the poor thing.
I thought it was a nice touch how the writer didn't have Elizabeth win the election but she did score a new friend who experiences the same things as her. That cute boy at the beginning of the book proved to be just like her, loving animals ad being made fun of at his old school. It comes to show that it's always better to be friends with people like you and have similar interests.
I'd definitely recommend this book to everyone, especially if you have animal friends of your own! :)
The story does pick up more when Elizabeth puts her presidential campaign into full gear from the urging of her friend Sally. Elizabeth is frustrated because of the overwhelming amount of animals in her house because of her father's career as a zoologist. She is considered unpopular because most kids are afraid to visit her house because of the animals. They call her "Liz-ard". In order to have the best chance possible in terms of winning back her friends and the election, she voices her opinion to her father and he gets rid of them. It happened so quickly and it does frazzle Elizabeth. She eventually realizes how the animals taught her lessons despite not being able to talk. She ends up ditching her old speech about how she got rid of the animals and how her house is now "normal" into why she has so many animals and how they've taught her things. Her speech warmed my heart and she does get the animals back.
I think my favorite part of the book is how she considers Fred the ferret her closest animal friend despite how they pick each others' buttons. Their interactions are written quite hilariously. I felt myself panicking reading how neighbors thought Fred was a rat chasing her when Elizabeth was exercising with him. They wanted to kill the poor thing.
I thought it was a nice touch how the writer didn't have Elizabeth win the election but she did score a new friend who experiences the same things as her. That cute boy at the beginning of the book proved to be just like her, loving animals ad being made fun of at his old school. It comes to show that it's always better to be friends with people like you and have similar interests.
I'd definitely recommend this book to everyone, especially if you have animal friends of your own! :)
March 8, 2021
I picked this one up mainly because there was mention of a ferret, which I rarely ever see in books. This book reminded me of a Disney channel movie and would have made a cute one.
The story itself involves the main character trying to get voted as president of her 6th grade class and dealing with the animals that live in her house and make her dream more difficult
I had a difficult time understanding the kids in the main character’s class—I have NEVER met more than one or two kids who didn’t like animals/were so scared of animals/would tease someone so much for living with animals. I can’t imagine anyone in my 6th grade having these issues but this was written in the late 80s so perhaps things were a little different then. It was still a little hard to believe only one 6th grader would actually like animals!
The main character, Elizabeth, also doesn’t seem to much care for the animals either because they drive her friends away. Which is understandable, but sometimes her dislike of them felt a little harsh. I know feelings can be strong when we’re younger but at times it felt a little overdone, especially when it’s compared to her feelings at the end.
The ferret mentioned does have some page time, which was nice to see. Bessie the injured red-tailed hawk ended up stealing my heart in the end, though I did enjoy Fred the ferret a lot. I also really liked the turtles. The reaction to Fred sadly wasn’t too farfetched, as I many people used to call ours “rats” and were often afraid of them—something I will personally never understand.
Without the animals, the election story would have been boring. I did like the part when a fight almost broke out. There’s some good lessons on true friendship and standing up for yourself/your life. I liked that Elizabeth went through some character growth. The addition of Shane was nice and I thought the ending had a great twist of irony to it.
The story itself involves the main character trying to get voted as president of her 6th grade class and dealing with the animals that live in her house and make her dream more difficult
I had a difficult time understanding the kids in the main character’s class—I have NEVER met more than one or two kids who didn’t like animals/were so scared of animals/would tease someone so much for living with animals. I can’t imagine anyone in my 6th grade having these issues but this was written in the late 80s so perhaps things were a little different then. It was still a little hard to believe only one 6th grader would actually like animals!
The main character, Elizabeth, also doesn’t seem to much care for the animals either because they drive her friends away. Which is understandable, but sometimes her dislike of them felt a little harsh. I know feelings can be strong when we’re younger but at times it felt a little overdone, especially when it’s compared to her feelings at the end.
The ferret mentioned does have some page time, which was nice to see. Bessie the injured red-tailed hawk ended up stealing my heart in the end, though I did enjoy Fred the ferret a lot. I also really liked the turtles. The reaction to Fred sadly wasn’t too farfetched, as I many people used to call ours “rats” and were often afraid of them—something I will personally never understand.
Without the animals, the election story would have been boring. I did like the part when a fight almost broke out. There’s some good lessons on true friendship and standing up for yourself/your life. I liked that Elizabeth went through some character growth. The addition of Shane was nice and I thought the ending had a great twist of irony to it.
March 26, 2024
I liked reading this book. It is now one of my favorites! I learned a lot about Liz and her pet ferret named Fred. She has other animals too at her parents house. Elizabeth’s dad is a Zooologist. There’s Bessie the red tailed hawk and Liz’s ferret Fred. She lets her ferret Fred ride in her bicycle basket and he likes it. There are alot of other animals too.
October 14, 2018
Wonderful depiction of rescued animals living at a zoologist's home, from the point of view of his 6th grade daughter. I wish I had this book to read when I was growing up.
June 28, 2020
My 3 and 6 year old loved it! I read this as a kid, and I was so excited to share it with them.
January 3, 2014
Bill Wallace did a great job writing Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizards in the Fridge! This is a very good book. It is targeted more tword older children, such as 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Liz is trying to run for class president, but when she trys to get a group of people to come over to campaign, the girls in Liz's grade are either busy or are afraid to come over because of all the animals. Her dad is a zoologist and he has a lot of animals around the house. Everyone is afraid to come over because they have heard it's like a zoo. Liz learns that it is not just about making lots of friends and getting rid of the animals, but that she has friends, the animals. I recommend this book because it is a good story and fun to read.
February 14, 2016
This book had me thoroughly disgusted. When I first read how she swatted at the ferret with her book, I was really peeved. I let it slide because she stated she would never hurt him and it was a game she played. Then on further in the book she talks about how the turtle embarrassed her in front of her friends because it was munching on a stinky gym sock. She couldn't pry the sock from the turtle so she hurled the sock and turtle across the room. I quit reading after that. VERY BAD EXAMPLE FOR HOW CHILDREN SHOULD TREAT ANIMALS. TOTALLY APPALLED AT THIS BOOK!
December 29, 2014
This was the first book that ever caught my eye in the school library. I read it, then read it again, and then one more time before I had to return it. I loved every part of this story, especially the pets, all of the pets, and the hilarity of every mistake and misunderstanding. I've wanted a pet ferret for the last 27 years. (But I did get some pet iguanas.) Thank you for this book Mr Wallace, it kick started my love of reading.
September 5, 2015
I remember a lot of books that I have read, but from my childhood there are a few that I really remember and always think of. Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizards in the Fridge is one of them. I read it in the fourth grade and loved it. It was the first book that made me cry. It's a great story about a young girl learning what emotions like regret, guilt, and heartache really feel like, while still being appropriately able to relate to a child.
December 30, 2016
Liz's dad is a zoologist, and their house is full of animals--and it's very hard to have friends come over who don't like and are afraid of animals. Every time Liz (age 12) has friends over, something bad happens--like the turtle who wet on April or the ibex who knocked Sally down. The book is funny, but also teaches a good lesson about being yourself and liking yourself. It's written for 8-12 year old children.
December 28, 2019
I like to read and re-read books I plan to use with my students. Elizabeth is running for class president. She has several marks against her as well as running against a nemesis and having the nickname of Liz (short for lizard), the greatest being all the different animals her zoologist father keeps at home. In her meltdown, she demands the animals leave. After much thought, they reluctantly agree. And so, Elizabeth is sure her life will be better, possibly.
October 11, 2011
3B English
It was a book about a girl who just wanted to fit in. But because she had all kinds of animals as house pets, alot of people made fun of her and picked on her. So she ends up trying out for class president. She runs into alot of trouble on the way.
I thought the book was great and very funny.
It was a book about a girl who just wanted to fit in. But because she had all kinds of animals as house pets, alot of people made fun of her and picked on her. So she ends up trying out for class president. She runs into alot of trouble on the way.
I thought the book was great and very funny.
June 3, 2008
My absolute favorite when I was a kid. As an added bonus, I wrote the author a letter and he actually responded (a real one- he asked about my own ferret). That only made me love the book even more. I regret selling my own copy and keep meaning to pick up another.
September 23, 2008
This one is in the same vein as Snot Stew, a little more cutesy and geared toward a little bit younger readers. Still a fun and silly animal story for a little bit younger kids.
December 2, 2010
It was .......interesting..
May 10, 2011
A awesome book!
February 6, 2012
there was someone that had a ferret and her dad had alot of other animals.They were gotten rid of ad brought back in the end.Auryn 8yo
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2012
This was one of my favorite books in 4th grade. I love this story so much!
September 11, 2012
The 6th graders I am interning with will be reading this, so I needed to as well. A cute story about standing up to the crowd and being an individual.
September 5, 2013
Cute children's book. Nice message at end. Better for age 8?
December 5, 2013
This was an excellent read-aloud chapter book with my 3rd grade students. Excellent focus on visualizing!
March 7, 2014
ive read this book about 5 times and i bought it at a book fair when i was in like the 3rd or 4th grade and it is so cute and charming and i still love it
January 7, 2024
4 stars
A wild, crazy, animal filled book about learning to appreciate your family.
A wild, crazy, animal filled book about learning to appreciate your family.
June 18, 2018
This book was very fun and cute. It had a good message.
October 5, 2009
I would really give it 3.5 stars. I wish I could have as many animals as Liz!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews