Beast Ballerz #1

By: Wesley King

Published by Penguin Group, 2026-05-05

<b>Basketball meets monsters in this first book in a hilarious middle-grade series by #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author Wesley King!</b><br><br>When eleven-year-old Baxter Brooks wakes up one morning with a sweet beard, he's pumped. How many fifth graders get to sport cheek mittens in math class? It's pretty much the greatest day of his life. <br><br>What he first assumes is insta-puberty, escalates . . . rapidly. He grows fangs, people scream, he almost gives a cat a heart attack . . . it's a total mess. When Bax gives his whole school a were-scare during a play, he's shuttled off to an academy for misfit monsters . . . and into the zany world of beast ball. But if Bax wants to lead the long-suffering Pugs to triumph and solve the mystery of the Extremely Inconvenient Phantom, he'll have to learn to embrace his hairy werewolf alter ego. Yes . . . even the ankle scarves. <br><br>Welcome to Prodigium Academy, where <i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid </i>meets <i>Hotel Transylvania </i>in this middle-grade series featuring ludicrous artwork, loads of humor and a monster-sized heart.