Iggy & Oz, Plastic Dinos of Doom—Hilarious, Clean Fiction for boys by JJ Johnson
What if your little brother was right—and there really was a monster in the attic?
What if hundreds of your toy dinosaurs mysteriously came to life…?
What if the fate of the neighborhood rested in the hands of two brothers—and a really big butterfly net?
Welcome to The Sword and Story Podcast—where we help Christian families find exciting, faith-filled books for their boys.
Our guest author today is JJ Johnson, the two time award winning author of the Iggy & Oz series! He also serves as Director of Marketing for Realm Makers. When he isn’t writing he can be found most likely working in his garden.
Iggy & Oz, Plastic Dinos of Doom
Kids have wild imaginations: monsters under their beds, ghosts, the boogeyman, and everything in between.
But sometimes, you have to stop and suspend your disbelief for a minute. The unthinkable may just be true for once.
Iggy Risner is your typical wise-cracking twelve-year-old. When his younger brother, Oz, wakes him in the middle of the night claiming he heard a monster in the attic, Iggy takes him upstairs to prove him wrong. But instead of a flesh-eating beast, they discover hundreds of their plastic toy dinosaurs that have mysteriously come to life.
When the dinos escape the attic and start terrorizing young kids in the neighborhood and trampling flower beds, somehow Iggy, Oz, and their friends must catch the plastic dinos of doom before the damage escalates. But what do you do when your parents doubt your story, and a group of clueless neighborhood bullies stand in the way?
For Iggy and Oz, catching the little beasts may prove to be easier said than done.
Iggy & Oz – The Plastic Dinos of Doom is the 2020 Realm Award winning Middle Grade Novel that will make your child’s imagination soar and make the hair behind their necks stand on end as they read on.
Appeal to Boys
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Dinosaurs come to life.
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Fast, funny adventure around the neighborhood.
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Lots of snot.
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A wisecracking 12-year-old narrator who breaks the fourth wall.
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Short chapters, lots of dialogue, and plenty of white space.
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Fierce sibling loyalty.
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Scooby-Doo vibe with clean humor and safe thrills.
Key Themes
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Friendship & loyalty: standing up for your friends (and even annoying siblings).
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Courage & responsibility: doing the right thing.
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Humility vs. overconfidence: admitting mistakes, growing in character
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Teamwork & asking for help: you don’t have to be the lone hero.
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Doing good (Galatians 6:10 ethos): showing kindness in everyday choices.
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW
Laurie Christine:
What if your little brother was right and there really was a monster in the attic? What if hundreds of your toy dinosaurs mysteriously came to life? What if the fate of the neighborhood rested in the hands of two brothers and a really big butterfly net?
Our guest author today is JJ Johnson, the two-time award-winning author of the Iggy and Oz series. He also serves as director of marketing for Realm Makers. When he isn’t writing, he can most likely be found working in his garden. JJ, welcome to the Sword and Story podcast.
JJ Johnson:
I really appreciate it. I’m excited to be here.
Laurie Christine:
Great! I am excited to chat with you and talk about your books and hear some fun stories. I’m going to start off with a fun question because I know that you have some boys in your house. First of all, tell us how many boys and what are their ages?
JJ Johnson:
Two boys, and they are 12 and 10. They’re about 22 months apart. I also have two nephews, and our family is very close, so we have boys here all the time. It’s a house full of boys.
Laurie Christine:
That’s awesome. So you essentially have four boys in your house as well.
JJ Johnson:
Pretty much. Most of the time throughout the week we have four or five boys over here.
Laurie Christine:
I love it. So here’s my question. How would you complete this statement: You know there are boys that live in your house if…
JJ Johnson:
Wow, I could go a hundred different directions, but I’ll tell you this as a dad. I’m not sure if this is specifically a boy thing, but I feel like it is according to my wife: you know you have boys in your house when anytime they take a shower or do something in the bathroom, the clothes are always right there on the floor and never get picked up. Guys, how hard is this? Then my wife informs me that I used to do the same thing when we got married. The laundry never makes it out of the bathroom and into the hamper. That’s something that just grates on my nerves for some reason.
Laurie Christine:
I do think it is a boy thing. I am constantly finding piles of clothes on the bathroom floor. My children insist on taking a shower in my bathroom that’s in my bedroom—even though we have multiple bathrooms. They have to walk through my bedroom to get to my husband’s and my bathroom. Without fail, there are piles of wet, sopping clothes on the floor. I’m like, how do they even get wet?
JJ Johnson:
Putting the shower curtain into the tub seems to be a challenge. I don’t understand it.
Laurie Christine:
And it’s always like, “Now I can’t remember—does it go in or out? It goes out when I’m taking a shower, right? And then it goes in when I’m taking a bath.” I’m like, no, it’s the other way around. Reverse that. Very fun. Well, we love boys and we love talking about boys, and we love books for boys, and I am so excited to talk to you about your books that you have written, especially with boys in mind. Let’s dive in and talk about your book series Iggy and Oz. Tell us about Iggy and Oz.
JJ Johnson:
I started writing Iggy and Oz in August of 2018. I wanted to write a middle grade book for my kids because they were starting to get to that age—at the time they were five and three—and I wanted to write a story for them as a dad. I was sitting in the living room trying to force an idea into existence—which you don’t really do as a writer. I had this collection of wadded-up sheets of yellow legal pad collecting at my feet because I was frustrated. I finally tossed the legal pad aside, got down on the floor, and started playing with my kids.
At that time Jurassic World was really big, so we had dinosaurs everywhere—from one-inch ones you step on in the middle of the night to a two- to three-foot-tall T-Rex. I thought it’d be fun to challenge my kids to pick up these 300-plus dinosaurs: “They’re coming alive, and you’ve got to get them into the bucket before they wreck the house.”
That turned into the idea of, “What if they got outside the house?” Next thing you know, we were thinking about dinosaurs tearing up the neighborhood and eating the flower bushes. After about 30 to 40 minutes of just being a dad, I sat down, picked up the yellow legal pad, and wrote one sentence: “When a 12-year-old boy’s plastic dinosaurs mysteriously come to life, he and his friends have to figure out a way to stop them before they end up wrecking the neighborhood for good.”
That became Iggy and Oz. The series follows Iggy and his younger adopted brother, Oz. An estate sale happens in their neighborhood, and out of it come items like a chest that brings dinosaurs to life, a soda pop machine that gives you superpowers when you drink the soda, a handkerchief that brings your snot to life and grows into a giant blob, and hypnotic ice cream. Each book focuses on a specific item from that estate sale.
It’s a clean, fun mystery—more of a Scooby-Doo, Goosebumps-y type vibe. I call it “kids on bikes” conquering the neighborhood, going on adventures, and figuring things out. It’s told from Iggy’s point of view in a diary format. He breaks the fourth wall many times, so there’s a question: Is Iggy making this up, or is it really happening? That’s the Iggy and Oz series in a nutshell.
Laurie Christine:
That is super fun. I didn’t realize that each book had an item from the original estate sale. That’s really fun—that it builds on these mysterious items. This is for middle grade, and I want to clarify for our listeners. Authors know what middle grade is, and it’s not the same as middle school. Middle grade is typically ages 8 to 12—upper elementary: third, fourth, fifth, sixth grade.
What are some of the things in this series that specifically appeal to boys?
JJ Johnson:
I think it’s the unreliable narrator of Iggy. His voice is so fun to write. Iggy can be a little overconfident in himself at times. When I’m writing, I’m listening to my kids talk to their friends and think, “That has to go in the book.” I try to take the things elementary school kids are dealing with and incorporate them: a brother you bicker with—every brother bickers—but you also defend your brother. Our kids will purposely annoy each other, but they’ll always defend each other.
I look at challenges boys face: jealousy, trying to make yourself seem bigger than you are, overconfidence, the social dynamics kids deal with in school. I incorporate those elements so boys can identify with the story. It’s told from a 12-year-old boy’s point of view who thinks more of himself than he should.
Laurie Christine:
I can identify with that—the bickering plus the defending, and always at the wrong times. I’m trying to redirect one child who did something wrong, and the brother jumps in, “No, no, it wasn’t his fault!” This is not the time to defend him when he’s supposed to get in trouble. It’s great that 8- to 12-year-old boys can relate to Iggy and the challenges he’s facing.
Have you been inspired by your own kids and some of their experiences as you’ve been writing the Iggy and Oz books?
JJ Johnson:
Yes. The first three ideas for the books actually came from my kids and questions they asked. The plastic dinosaurs story came straight from them. For The Soda Pop Wars, I was trying to figure out the next item. Iggy and Oz: Plastic Dinos of Doom did so well that I thought, “How do I turn this into a series?” The estate sale opened things up for more stories, but what’s the next item? My sons and their cousins were on the back deck. One took a big gulp of root beer and said, “I have superpowers. I’m going to walk through the wall.” I thought, that sounds like a cool story.
Also, Iggy and Oz: The Living Snot—which is every parent’s favorite title and also won an award—came from a moment after COVID lockdowns when church reopened. We all had masks on. During service, an older gentleman pulled his mask down, took out a handkerchief, and my son asked, “What is that?” I told him what a handkerchief is. The gentleman blew his nose and stuffed it back in his pocket. My kids thought that was the most disgusting thing ever. My son said, “What if the snot comes to life, slithers out of his pants, and down the aisle, and starts growing into a giant?” I’m like, shh—but also, that sounds good. So during the sermon I’m writing story ideas about living snot.
A lot of the one-liners in the books are real conversations I’ve heard my kids have with their friends. I’ll stick those in. A lot of the ideas come from the kids.
Laurie Christine:
And that’s what makes it so much fun for kids to read—you’re relating to them. You’re speaking their language: snot, slime, burping, all the things. I’m curious: why do boys love gross things? What is it about gross things that attracts boys?
JJ Johnson:
This is something that I don’t think will ever change. Boys are always going to be adventurous. They’ll do things that get them hurt, sometimes on purpose. I’m a Gen X kid, a little kid in the ’80s. We did things, and our parents had no idea. Now that I’m a parent, I’m like, “No, I know the things I did as a kid. You can’t do that.” I’m more of a helicopter parent at times because I’m afraid they’ll get hurt. But boys go out and do things. It’s the gross stuff, the adventure stuff, being daring and having fun. Boys will always be into gross things and will find things funny that most people don’t. It’s part of being a boy.
Laurie Christine:
As you’re saying that, I wonder if it goes along with pushing boundaries and social norms. Everyone else thinks this is gross, so I’m going to touch it or eat it. I want to see how everyone reacts. That’s probably part of it. My four boys—and my husband—live well. I’m the only girl. We’ve got two female dogs, so I can commiserate with the dogs a little bit.
I’d love for you to tell our listeners a story we talked about before we started recording. It was so funny, and I was dying of laughter. I hadn’t hit record yet, so I asked you to tell it again. Speaking of gross things—snot and slime and bodily functions—you told me about a situation that could make it into a book. Can you tell us that story?
JJ Johnson:
My oldest son just finished sixth grade—his first year of middle school. He went to youth camp with our church for the first time. Our church and 14 other churches did a youth camp together. They took about 700 kids to a campground about two and a half hours from Oklahoma City.
They left on a Wednesday. Saturday morning at about 3 a.m., we got a call from the youth pastor—which is not what you want to see as a parent. We missed the call at first, then got ahold of him. He said Miles had a stomach bug. They placed him in quarantine with the other kids. I said, “What do you mean the other kids?” It turned out 130 kids out of 700 had gotten sick and were vomiting all over the place. Apparently it started in the middle of service—four or five kids at first. The nurses thought, we’ve got four or five sick kids. Between 9 and 10, about 30 more started vomiting. By lights out, my son told his friends, “Our goal is to survive the night. It’s the apocalypse; we’re going to survive.” Ten minutes later, he was puking.
They put him on a golf cart—he was the only one who got to ride—and took him to the quarantine building. Everyone else had to walk. People started calling him the MVP: Most Valuable Puker. They ended up canceling camp. I think they got up to 150 sick kids. They called parents and said, “We know it’s a huge inconvenience, but if you can drive down and pick up your child so we don’t have to put them on a bus with kids who aren’t sick, we’d appreciate it.” Even some parents whose kids weren’t sick came and picked them up.
When I got to the campground, they’d shut everything down—no more services, no games. I saw my nephew and asked where my son was. He said, “He’s in that building. That’s where they keep all the sick kids.” They weren’t letting people in. I went in anyway. There were kids laying on the ground, kids with their heads on cafeteria tables, a kid over here puking, a girl over there puking. It looked like a scene from an outbreak horror movie. The counselors looked like they hadn’t slept in 30 hours.
I found my son and said, “Let’s get your stuff and go.” We grabbed his things and my nephew’s because he’d been exposed. Driving home, we talked about it. Everyone had to fill out a survey for the Department of Health. The bad part for the campground was they had another church group arriving in two days, so they had to sterilize everything.
I’m driving home thinking, this is going to make an incredible Iggy and Oz story. I’m going to figure out a way to put “Midnight Hurl at Camp Whiffle” into a book and use MVP—Most Valuable Puker. Parents are going to hate me, but the boys are going to love it.
Laurie Christine:
I love it. That is such a nightmare. It makes me nauseous just thinking about it. In our house, we have an unspoken agreement: I deal with the blood—my husband can’t handle blood—but I can’t handle puke. He has to handle the puke from the dogs and the humans, which I’m very grateful for. I’m looking forward to that book—well, not really—but my kids are going to love it.
I know you’re passionate about writing for reluctant readers and kids who don’t necessarily love to read. Do you have any advice or encouragement for parents whose boys just aren’t into reading? They’d rather be outside playing, doing art or sports, collecting bugs—boys are active. The thought of sitting down “doing nothing” with a book doesn’t appeal to them. What encouragement do you have for parents of reluctant readers?
JJ Johnson:
When I started writing Iggy and Oz, I purposely wanted something that would get my kids to read a book with chapters and not a lot of pictures. I love graphic novels—I read and collect comic books—but I also wanted my kids to be challenged with reading.
I always tell people: if you want your kid to stop reading Dog Man—I have no problem with Dog Man—but if you want them to read an actual chapter book, that’s what Iggy and Oz is designed for. Start with something that interests them. Do they like fantasy, sci-fi, adventure? Do they like scary stories?
Find books that are shorter. Find something with a lot of white space and dialogue—dialogue that drives the story. Find something with short chapters—two to three pages. When a kid feels like they’re moving through chapters, it feels like they’re leveling up and progressing. Those are my big ones: shorter overall length, lots of white space, high-interest topics, and short chapters.
My last tip: let your kids see you love reading. Sit down together as a family and read—turn on some background music that helps you focus—and read as a family. Even fifteen to twenty minutes a day is better than nothing.
Laurie Christine:
I love those tips. We read a lot together as a family, but it’s usually me reading to the kids, which is great. I love the idea of everyone getting their own book. “We’re going to set the timer for 30 minutes. You have to have a book, be quiet, and read.” Then I get to read my own book too.
I’d add: audiobooks are a great way to get kids into the story without having to use their eyes to look at the words. Reluctant readers might not enjoy physically sitting with a book. There’s value to that, and we need to encourage it, but if that’s not where they are, start with audiobooks. Kids love stories—movies, video games—they’re all stories. If you can get them to love stories in any form, it’s a great gateway into loving reading. One of my kids says, “I hate reading,” but he’ll sit for hours listening to me read or to an audiobook. I tell him, “You don’t actually hate reading.” Most adults don’t have time to sit with a physical book; we listen to audio, especially for fiction. It’s a valid way for kids to consume books.
Laurie Christine:
JJ, the final question: what are some of the messages or themes in your books that will help boys grow to be strong, courageous warriors for the kingdom of God?
JJ Johnson:
One theme I explore in each book is simply trying to be a good person. One of my favorite verses is Galatians 6:10: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of faith.” We can debate what it means to be a good person, but one thing Iggy has to learn in every book is a basic moral lesson—whether that’s embellishing lies, gossiping and putting others down, or becoming the bully you’re standing against. Another is learning to rely on other people and let them help you. Kids sometimes don’t want to let others help. The themes revolve around friendship: forming good friendships, getting outside, doing things, having fun, and enjoying life as a kid—because you’ll never get these childhood years back.
Laurie Christine:
Great. The theme of building and valuing good friendships is really important for our boys. Let’s do a quick overview. What are the titles of the four books in the series? And what’s coming next?
JJ Johnson:
The series titles are: Iggy and Oz: The Plastic Dinos of Doom; Iggy and Oz: The Soda Pop Wars; Iggy and Oz: The Living Snot; and Iggy and Oz: The Great Ice Cream Truck Heist. The next book is Iggy and Oz: The Snot Strikes Back.
Laurie Christine:
More snot—yay!
JJ Johnson:
If I get it written, there might be a camp vomit story coming in the future, but for now the fifth book, currently in editing, is The Snot Strikes Back.
Laurie Christine:
Do you have an estimation of when that’s going to be available?
JJ Johnson:
I believe it will be available late fall this year.
Laurie Christine:
This episode will be coming out mid to late fall, so it might be around that time. I’ll make sure we have links to all of those books, including the new one if it’s available, in our show notes. I think you have a free audiobook or ebook on your website. Can you tell our listeners what that is and where they can get it?
JJ Johnson:
If you go to jjjohnson.substack.com and subscribe to my newsletter, you can pick up Iggy and Oz: The Plastic Dinos of Doom for free. I write essays pretty much targeting parents and dads on a weekly basis. My newsletter is active—I use it kind of as a blog. If you don’t want to subscribe, I totally understand. The ebook is also free on Kindle permanently, so you can pick it up there as well.
Laurie Christine:
Nice. What’s the best place for people to find you and get your books?
JJ Johnson:
Best place is jjjohnson.substack.com. I’m also active on Instagram at @jjjohnson_author and on Facebook. You can find my books at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Laurie Christine:
JJ, thanks so much for coming on the show today. It’s been so much fun chatting with you.
JJ Johnson:
I’m always up for talking about writing books for boys. I’m looking forward to your podcast.
Laurie Christine:
Thanks so much.
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