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Archive for the ‘Fiction 4-9’ Category

Stinky Street Stories

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By: Alex Rat & Jules Faber

Brian lives on Stinky Street, his best mate is Nerf and they get into all sorts of trouble that often revolves around smells, in one way or another.

There is no overarching story here, it is more like a collection of short stories revolving around the two boys and bad smells. The stories and silly and often gross and as such very likely to appeal to the demographic it is directed at. The stories are fun and easy to read, and are accompanied by black and white illustrations.

If you know a boy, or girl, in the 6-9 age group who has a fondness for silly stories then put this book in their hands.

Publisher: Pan Macmillan                                                                                                  Published: 28th March 2017                                                                                                                                         Key Words: Smells, Humour                                                                                                          ISBN: 9781743539026

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Kick it to Nick

By: Shane Crawford & Adrian Beck

Books 5 and 6 of the series

Footybot Face Off

footybot-face-off

Science week at school really isn’t all that exciting as far as Nick is concerned, there are things he would much rather be doing and one of them is playing football. Things take a turn for the better when the principal announces they have a demonstration happening by the footybots. It all is starting to look exciting but then something goes wrong. The robots start acting outside of their coding and somehow Nick and his friends find themselves battling robots on the footy field.

Publisher: Puffin

Published: 25th February 2015

Key Words: Football, Friends, School

Age : 4-9

ISBN: 9780143307891

The Fanged Footys

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The Crocs finally have their footy oval back just in time for the last game and the team can’t wait to get back on it. Nick though does have concerns considering all the weird things that had happened on that oval. Nick was right to be concerned, something happens to the footballs. Suddenly they get mouths, grow fangs and start attacking the players. It isn’t a problem kept to the footy ground as the balls somehow make there way to many other locations. It is up to Nick and his friends to get rid of all the fanged footys.

Publisher: Puffin

Published: 25th February 2015

Key Words: Football, Friends, School

Age: 4-9

ISBN: 9780143307907

These are a fun read that combines action and sport for those who like AFL. Large print, easy language, fast paced story, short chapters and black and white illustrations to break up the text, making this series a good choice for sport loving young readers.

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright

I received this book from the publisher
goth-girl-and-the-wuthering-fright
By: Chris Riddell
Book 3 in the Goth Girl series.
Ada Goth is the only child of renowned writer Lord Goth and she lives at Ghastly-Gorm Hall. Ada is a smart girl, rather self reliant and is looking forward to seeing her father who will be home for Christmas. The other thing happening at the hall for Christmas is a literary dog show. Famous authors from all over will be bringing their beloved pets to the hall to see which one deserves the title best in show. Ada though is also excited for the fact her best friend will be coming back to the hall for the holidays.
Things don’t really go as planned though as strange things start to happen; howls in the nights, shoes that have been chewed and mysterious paw prints. Something is going on and Ada is determined to figure it out as well as having some fun along the way.
A wonderfully enchanting tale, filled with absurdities that are Riddell’s signature, accompanied by his distinctive and quirky illustrations. Ada is a steady, relatable character in amongst the slightly off centre story and supporting cast. Riddell’s books are always entertaining, a real pleasure to read, picture books to chapter books. A truly fun read.
Highly recommended.
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s
Published: 29th Sept 2015
Format: Hardcover, 220 pages
Genre: Humour, Christmas, Family, Mystery
ISBN: 9781447277897

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Kizmet and the Case of the Smashed Violin

I received my copy from the publisher.

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By: Frank Woodley

Part of the Kizmet Papancillo series

Kizmet and Gretchen are assisting Kizmet’s father Detective Spencer with another case. This time they are in Hugelstein and the job at hand is to protect a couple of priceless Stradivarius violins. Something disastrous happens and one of the violins is destroyed. The more they pursue the case, the more complicated things seem and the more dangerous the case becomes.

I have to admit that this series is quite a lot of fun. Silly moments, with the parental figure being somewhat of the bumbling detective and Kizmet being the brains of the operation. Kizmet follows the train of evidence with skill and learns a new trick along the way. Woodley has put together interesting stories and a strong character in Kizmet and used his experience in comedy to good effect.

Remains on the recommended list.

Publisher: Puffin

Published: 29th July 2015

Format: Paperback, 112 pages

Genre: Detective, Fun, Adventure

ISBN: 9780143308553

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Kizmet and the Case of the Tassie Tiger

I received my copy from the publisher.

kizmet-and-the-case-of-the-tassie-tiger

By: Frank Woodley
Livestock are being attacked by a strange creature in the Tasmanian bush. Sightings are claiming it is the, supposedly extinct, Tasmanian tiger. Kizmet, Gretchen and Detective Spencer are called to investigate.
This is a fun little story, part of a new series written by comedian Frank Woodley. Kizmet is the daughter of Detective Spencer, a somewhat bumbling investigator from IMPACT – International Mysteries Puzzles and Crime Taskforce. She is the brains of the operation and is ably assisted by her pet currawong. The story itself moves at a good pace and is entertaining, written with a tone of humour.
Recommended.
Publisher: Puffin
Published: 29th July 2015
Format: Paperback 112 pages
Genre: Adventure, Fun
ISBN: 9780143308546

Category:

Fiction 4-9, Uncategorized

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A Tiny Bit of Luck

a-tiny-bit-luckyBy: L Pinchon
Part of the Tom Gates series

Tom is okay with his life, but his dad seems to think he needs to spend more time outside, so they make a kite. Somehow this doesn’t seem like a great idea to Tom, who’d much rather be watching his favourite shows or practicing with his band. Speaking of the band, they have a lot of work to do before the big Band Battle Competition. The last thing Tom wants to do is go to his neighbours place for a tea party, but his mother insists. What are you ring to do? They’re family.

Tom has a plan but outside influences always seem to get in the way of the plans. That’s what life is though and this is why these stories are easy to understand. We all have things we want to do before other people come along and get involved. The format is easy to read with large text and plenty of simply illustrations. Fans of Big Nate and Diary of a Wimpy Kid might like to take a look at these.

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: May 2014
Format: Paperback 253 pages
Age: 7+
Key Words: Humour, School, Family
ISBN: 9781743625347

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Tom Gates – Extra Special Treats (not)

tom-gates-extra-special-treats-not-By: L Pinchon
Part of the Tom Gates series

Tom is wanting to get a star pupil badge this term, some of the perks that come with it are good, but with all the things that go wrong at school he’s just not sure he’ll ever get one. That’s not going to stop him trying though. Then a horrible girl moves in next door and his relatives turn up needing a place to stay for a while. As if that isn’t all bad enough Uncle Kevin thinks the family should get a family portrait done for the grandparents where everyone is wearing matching sweaters. Urgh!

Filled with the silly little things that make up everyday life, this is a fun story. THe normality of the events make it easily relatable. Large text in a variety of fonts is broken up by plenty of black and white illustrations making this an easily approachable read.

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: Nov 2013
Format: Paperback 228 pages
Age: 7+
Key Words: Humour, School, Family
ISBN: 9781743622032

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Ready, Set, Spy

I received my copy from the publisher.
ready-set-spy
Frankie Fox Girl Spy: Book 1
Frankie Fox knows her Dad does secret work, she understands but misses him. Instead she is trying to teach herself to develop spy skills, she really wants to be a spy. Then the worst happens and her father is kidnapped by an evil group called the Alliance. This is when Frankie learns that she has been secretly trained to be a spy (all the prompts her father gave her were for a reason). It is up to her and her friend JJ to rescue him.
This is a fun adventure centred around a feisty heroine. Frankie is smart, observant and willing to learn. The story moves at a brisk pace and spy stories often do well with kids. They encourage them to push at boundaries and learn outside the normal skills (even just encourage them to work at their normal classes). Also they are simply fun reads. It is suitable for ages 7+ so is at the top end of 4-9 category and low end of middle grade fiction.
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Published: 27th January 2015
Key Words: Spy Stories, Adventure
Format: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 128
ISBN: 9780734415684

Category:

Fiction 4-9, Fiction 8-12

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Playground Pets

I was sent this by the publisher.
playground-pets
By: Rebecca Johnson
Illustrated By: Kyla May
Juliet Nearly a Vet bk 8

Juliet is ten and has a real passion for animals. Most schools don’t have many pets but hers does and that is just fine with Juliet because she loves animals and wants to be a vet when she is older. Also she loves to help out. One day they get a replacement teacher for science class, Miss Fine, but it turns out that Miss Fine doesn’t know very much about looking after animals so Juliet and her best friend Chelsea volunteer to help her. All is going well until it isn’t and then they lose someone and some babies might be coming early. It seems it is going to take more than two of them to get things back on track.
This is a real team story and as such a good addition to the series. The story itself is fun filled, with silly things than can happen when animals are involved. Scattered throughout are also plenty of little facts about different animals that are part of the story, so the book could also be a teaching device but shhhh, don’t let the reader know that. There is even a short quiz at the end of the book. A good little read particularly if the reader likes animals.
PUBLISHER: Puffin
FORMAT: Paperback 96 pages
PUBLISHED: 27th August 2014
KEY WORDS: Animals, Friends, School
ISBN: 9780143308270

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Alien Escape

I was sent this book by the publisher

alien-escape

By: Geronimo Stilton

Book 1 of the Spacemice series

Geronimo Stiltonix is the captain of Mousestar 1, a fabulous spaceship. He is rudely awakened from his dreams to discover said spaceship is about to explode. This is not good news especially when it turns out that the batteries need replacing. Geronimo is thrilled when a group of strange aliens offer to help by giving them access to a rare element. The aliens might not be as friendly as they seem though.

Using the same format that makes the various other Stilton series so popular. The story is simple, the text visually interesting and the illustrations fun and colourful. If you’ve taken your kids through the other books then this could be a fun addition to your reading time. If you have kids that are just starting their reading journey and they are interested in space and science fiction, then this could be a good choice for you. Silly fun.

Publisher: Scholastic US

Format: Paperback | 128 pages

Publication date: 1 May 2014

Genre: Adventure, Space

ISBN 13: 9780545646505

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of page

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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