Rob Harrell Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Batpig Books
When Pigs Fly | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Too Pig to Fail | (2022) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Go Pig or Go Home | (2023) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Life of Zarf Books
The Trouble with Weasels | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Troll Who Cried Wolf | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Troll Overboard | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
Wink | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Graphic Novels
Monster on the Hill | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Picture Books
Big Top | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Rob Harrell is a published author, illustrator and comic strip writer.
Harrell is known for writing and drawing the comic strip “Big Top”, a syndicated strip that ran up until 2007. He is also the creator of the “Adam@Home” comic strip.
In 2013, his graphic novel Monster on the Hill came out from publisher Top Shelf. It was written and illustrated by the author. It tells the tale of a town that has a monster in it that is down on his luck. It served as the inspiration for a movie. Paramount Pictures’ animated movie is based on the graphic novel. Titled Rumble, it will be out in 2021.
He is also the author of the 2020 book titled Wink. The story is for young adults and is all about getting through the middle school age years while having to contend with horrible news. Ross Maloy finds out that he has been diagnosed with a rare eye cancer. Now he’s going to have to get treated for cancer when all that he wants to do is fit in. The book is based on life experiences that Harrell has really gone through.
Harrell has not only found work as an author, he’s also been able to develop a career as an in-demand illustrator. Harrell has collaborated with various clients to produce work, including American Greetings, Volkswagen, Time, Inc., Mad, and Simon and Schuster. He has also had figurative paintings on display in his own shows. The solo shows have been held in cities such as Austin, Indianapolis, and San Francisco.
The author is married to Amber, his wife. They live in Zionsville, Indiana, along with their dogs.
The author expanded his work to create the popular Life of Zarf series. Dial Books for Young Readers put out the first story in this trilogy in 2014. It is titled The Trouble with Weasels. The sequel is titled The Troll Who Cried Wolf and that novel came out in 2015. Troll Overboard is the third story in this engaging series and it was released in 2016. The series focuses on a fairy tale world that a troll named Zarf lives in, currently attending middle school. This is a great series for middle school readers or any young adult that wants to find a cool new series to read!
The Trouble with Weasels is the fun and creative first book in the Life of Zarf fictional series. If you love silly stories such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Dork Diaries or movies like Brave or Shrek, this is the perfect awkward social middle school life meets fairy tale world for you!
In this book, readers get to meet the main character of Zarf for the first time. When it comes to his world, he’s got it anything but made. He is a troll as well, which means that he’s not automatically popular. In fact, when it comes to social status, he’s probably somewhere at the bottom.
There’s a hierarchy in his middle school that Zarf clearly sees. There’s the popular kids, which includes the knights and of course the princes. They’re the ones that Zarf would like to run with– he just wants to be more popular than he is now. Then there are giants and ogres, who are generally more tough and sporty. They’re like the jocks and are pretty popular. Then there are the band geeks, which consist of basically the minstrels.
All of these groups and people are more popular than Zarf is. That might not even change because trolls aren’t the smartest and they definitely aren’t known for being casual or cool. Things quickly go from bad to worse, though, when unexpected events go down.
The king has gone missing, which means that the prince has taken the throne in his absence. This prince also happens to be the worst enemy of the troll. Once he gets into power, he sets about doing what he can to make the troll’s life terrible. Plunging into ever greater misery, Zarf decides that he needs to work to do whatever he can do to find the king.
His sidekicks are there to help. One is a pig that is fixated on mutton and is a touch neurotic at times, while the other is the court jester’s son. He did not inherit any of his father’s talent for comedy. Still, the three are more than enough to take on this adventure, so they set out on a search for the king in the hopes that they may be able to restore him to the throne.
Anything would be better than having to put up with a spoiled prince on a power trip. Can the three of them find the king and become heroes in the process? Or are they destined to remain the same middle school losers that they always were? Pick up the first book in this fun and novel illustrated series and you will find out!
The Troll Who Cried Wolf is the second book in Rob Harrell’s Life of Zarf series. If you enjoy young adult genre books, then definitely be sure to check out this modern fairy tale and catch all of the humor and action for yourself!
Zarf may have been on an epic adventure and even rescued royalty, but to his dismay, that hasn’t done much to help his social standing. As far as the kids at his middle school are concerned, he’s still the very bottom of the barrel when it comes to popularity. Part of it isn’t even his fault; he can’t help that he was born a troll.
Still, it seems slightly unfair that he’s unpopular just because of that. The good news is that his best friends Chester and Kevin have continued to be his pals. Then things go awry when Kevin suddenly disappears. Could it have anything to do with a group of revenge-seeking wolves that have come into town?
Could they be targeting people at his school? Zarf might just have to save the day and his friend before things really get bad. Can this troll do it? Read this book to find out!
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