When the principal has to be away from school at a conference, Hank's class agrees to take care of the principal's special pet frog, and Hank is chosen to take the frog home for the weekend.

"Hank's sister Emily wants Ralph's Reptile Show to perform at her birthday party more than anything, but Ralph is booked solid. So Hank comes up with a plan: he'll disguise himself as a magician called The Westside Wizard and pull a snake from thin air! But when Hank's true identity is revealed during his performance, his good deed might just turn into a huge disaster"--

"With Halloween approaching, Hank and his friends decide to watch a scary movie to get ready for the holiday. But the movie turns out to be a bit too scary for Hank, and suddenly he sees zombies every time he closes his eyes. Everyone says zombies are not real, but then people around him start moaning and acting like the undead, and he is not so sure. Hank is not taking any chances--not when there might be zombies on the loose!"--

Hank is nothing like his cousin Judith Ann. When she comes to stay with the Zipzer family while taking part in a junior chef competition, she gives off an air of perfection. She's an excellent cook, and doesn't let Hank forget it, either. But when Hank enters the competition, too, he finds out that he and Judith Ann have more in common than he thinks--and it's not cooking!

While accompanying his mother at the deli, Hank suffers a series of embarrassing accidents that cause teachers visiting the deli to go hungry, a situation that compels him to express his appreciation for his teachers' hard work.