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Posts tagged ‘School Stories’

The Big Switch

I was sent this by the publisher
the-big-switch-order-now-for-your-chance-to-win-
By: David Warner & JV McGee
Illustrated by: Jules Faber
The Kaboom Kid bk 1

Young Dave Warner is obsessed with cricket. Whenever he has a spare moment he is thinking about or playing cricket. He even dreams about his favourite game. This is all well and good until he finds out his teacher for the new year of school is Mr Mudge and they all know Mr Mudge hates cricket. This is not looking like a good start to things, especially with such an important match coming up. Things get worse though when it turns out Mo Clouter is also in Davey’s class. Mo doesn’t like cricket either and thinks it is funny to always get Davey into trouble. Davey is determined to make the best of things though, working all he can on a new move for the big game. Then Davey and his friends get a whole stack of detention and it doesn’t look as though there is ever going to be any time to work on his secret weapon. Will Davey find a way to perfect the move before they have to play?
This is the first in a series introducing a young David Warner, (funnily enough the name of the co-author who currently plays cricket for Australia). Davey has only one interest, cricket, so if you have a cricket mad kid whom you would like to get reading then look no further. Lots of cricket references, the whole plot revolves around getting to play more cricket and working on a special cricket move. Everything is pretty relatable as it could be any kid in any school in Australia.

PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster
PUBLISHED: 1 December 2014
FORMAT: Paperback 160 pages
KEY WORDS: Sport, Cricket
ISBN: 9781925030785

Category:

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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Dork Diaries – TV Star

I received my copy from the publisher

tv-star

By: Rachel Renee Russell

Nikki Maxwell is part of a band that has been offered a recording contract. Despite the problems with meeting up with Trevor Chase, a Hollywood producer Nikki finds herself thrust into stardom when she is offered her very own reality TV show. It turns out though that it isn’t anywhere near as much fun as it sounds, especially with her arch enemy MacKenzie doing everything she can to steal the spotlight and mess up Nikki’s fledgling relationship with Brandon. has Nikki bitten off more than she should have?

A continuation of the trials Nikki Maxwell, self confessed dork, goes through everyday as she tries to hide the truth of who she is from the people she attends school with. Nikki is a bit of a drama queen but it makes for fun reading. The plot follows the same pattern of the other books but that is unlikely to bother younger readers, who will be way more interested in the silly antics and quirky illustrations. Let’s face it what youngster doesn’t dream of fame and fortune and maybe the possibility of staring in a reality tv show.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books

Published: 26 March 2015

Format: Paperback 336 pages

Categories: School Stories, Humour

ISBN 13: 9781471117688

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of page.

Category:

Fiction 8-12

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Melody and Jackson’s Christmas Spell

 

melody-jackson-s-christmas-spell

By: Vivian French

Stargirl Academy bk 7

Melody and Jackson are still hoping to get their final star and graduate from Stargirl Academy, but with the other girls already having got their stars the best friends are wondering if they will get their chance. They are so glad when they get their chance and they know just what they want to do. Instead of playing it safe and helping people they know, they decide to help a complete stranger. Things aren’t quite what they first appeared to be though, and the girls learn something along the way.

This is a story about teamwork and seeing bigger pictures. The girls judge something by a brief snippet that they see and what they uncover is a bit different to what they thought it was. This helps them to understand that things aren’t always what they are like on the surface. A cute Christmas story with a nice Christmas message (or one that suits for any time of the year really).

Publisher: Walker Books Ltd

Published: 03 October 2013

Format: Paperback 192 pages

Categories: Science Fiction Fantasy School Stories

ISBN 13: 9781406349382

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of page

 

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Timmy Failure Now Look What You’ve Done

now-look-what-you-ve-doneBy: Stephan Pastis

Timmy Failure bk 2

Timmy Failure believes himself to be the greatest detective ever and he is going to solve the biggest problem of the missing globe. There are many things he has to contend with along the way : a very lazy partner, a best friend with an abnormal interest in learning an arch nemesis who cannot be named and a strange letter sending person who is threatening him and goes by the name of MM. Also there is his somewhat loopy aunt, who he is living with at the moment. Life just isn’t easy when you are a great detective.

This series is very funny, and more than a little silly. Timmy is in turns entertaining and frustrating. The style of the book is perfect for those readers who maybe don’t want to pick up the bigger books, the text is amply broken by simple illustrations used to show Timmy’s point. The mysteries themselves aren’t that challenging but the fun is in watching Timmy arrogantly bumble his way through.

If you have a reader who loves Wimpy Kid or Big Nate then give this series a look.

Publisher: Walker Books

Published: 25th February 2014

Format: Hardcover

Category: Humour

ISBN: 9781406356342

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of page

 

Category:

Fiction 8-12

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Cross My Heart Hope to Spy

cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-spy

By: Ally Carter

Gallagher Girls Bk 2

The Josh disaster of last semester has left Cammie just wanting to have a quiet semester, after all using her spy skills to get her first boyfriend then being forced to give him up was quite enough. She even promises her mother to stay out of trouble. That is way easier said than done when your name is Cammie Morgan and you are the child of spies, attending the premier spy school. Cammie and her friends discover that there is something going on codenamed Blackthorn and they are determined to uncover it. Things aren’t that simple in the spy world and Cammie gets blamed for the biggest breach of school security any of them have ever seen. It’s up to Cammie and her friends to clear her name but that means breaking her word to her mother. Can her life get any more complicated, sure if you throw in another boy who notices the girl who is best at going unnoticed.

Cammie is still very much out of her depth when it comes to the opposite sex and she isn’t really over Josh so she throws herself into school work. Josh doesn’t really remember all of what happened between him and Cammie and that makes things very awkward. Fortunately for Cammie, she has friends and a very useful resource in Macey McHenry, who acts as the boy-translator for the girls. The friends work well together, combining their different strengths in each little task in front of them, whether it is breaking and entering or setting up a hidden command post.

The addition of Zach is great because not only can he match Cammie in specialised skills, like Cammie you just don’t know where you really stand with him. The relationship thing gives these characters a reality that if it wasn’t there would leave these characters a bit two dimensional. As it is it is awkward and amusing but the the really fun stuff to read is the spy stuff. The competition aspect of this book gives it an extra level of tension and tension is what helps make a story interesting. A good follow-up to book one.

Recommended.

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children

Published: 23 December 2008

Format: Paperback 256 pages

Categories: School Stories, Spy Stories, Romance

ISBN 13: 9781423100065

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of page

Category:

Young Adult Fiction

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I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You

i-d-tell-you-i-love-you-but-then-i-d-have-to-kill-you

By: Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan attends the exclusive Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a school that is not exactly what it appears to be. To the outside it looks like a snobby school for rich brats but behind the walls are classes on chemical warfare, covert operations, code cracking and advanced martial arts. Gallagher Academy is a school for spies. Cammie was destined for Gallagher, both her parents were spies and her mother is now the Academy’s headmistress. Cammie is fluent in 14 languages, can kill a man and is an expert at hiding in plain sight, what Cammie simply is not equipped for is the simple scenario of boy meets girl. This whole situation is made worse by the fact that Jpsh will never know who she really is, and how can a relationship survive that?

A boy meets girl tale with a twist. Cammie isn’t the prettiest or the smartest girl, she has made an art of being the one who goes unnoticed, until Josh does just that. Josh breaks through walls Cammie never realised she had. He is charming, and unskilled at subterfuge. Cammie is totally out of her depth when it comes to this relationship and the fact she has so few boy/girl skills gives this story a fresh twist. It was a fresh, fun read and a great start to this series. Gallagher Academy is the sort of place I would have loved to go, if it was an option, Carter has given it the reality of high school (though not quite the division of groups you see in a normal school) and the layers of a spy school, including cool gadgets. Mostly though it is a look at people skills and the pitfalls of growing up.

Recommended.

Publisher: Disney Publishing Worldwide

Published: 01 April 2007

Format: Paperback 284 pages

Categories: School Stories, Romance, Adventure, Spy Stoies

ISBN 13: 9781423100041

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of the page

Category:

Young Adult Fiction

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Prank Alert

I was sent this by the publisher.

prank-alert

By: Fiona Regan

Illustrated By: Louis Shea

Double Trouble series bk 1

Tommy and Coop are twins who’s favourite thing to do is to pull pranks on people. They love pranking their parents, though it may sometimes have consequences they don’t like. They also love to prank at school, and this time they end up having to stay back afterwards to help clean up, but this just gives them an idea for another prank.

This is a fun story that will appeal to many young readers. The text is simple to understand, and the story moves at a good pace. The illustrations are just as fun as the story. This is a good choice for young readers looking at getting into chapter books though the chapters come in around 10 pages so they are longer than some.

Publisher: Scholastic Australia

Published: 01 February 2014

Format: Paperback 64 pages

Categories: Humour

ISBN 13: 9781742838564

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of the page

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Stink and the World’s Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers

I was sent this by the publisher.

stink-and-the-world-s-worst-super-stinky-sneakersBy: Megan McDonald

Illustrated By: Peter H Reynolds

Stink is super excited to be going on the school excursion because they are going to the Everybody Stinks exhibit at the Science Museum. Whilst there Stink discovers he has an amazing gift, he has a really good nose, he can tell the difference between all sorts of super smelly things.

Stink decides to enter his stinky sneakers in the competition for the worst smelling sneakers but his sister Judy ruins his plans. This is when Stink sets out to make his shoes as stinky as they used to be. Then he discovers that his gift gives him an amazing new opportunity.

Stink is a lot of fun, a good match for his sister Judy Moody. The stories are fun filled and even have snippets of interesting information. The language is perfect for young readers and the illustrations complement the stories wonderfully. A great little series.

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Published: 12 February 2013

Format: Paperback 130 pages

Categories: Family, Humour, Fun, Friends,

ISBN 13: 9780763664244

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of the page.

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker

I was sent my copy by the publisher

stink-and-the-incredible-super-galactic-jawbreakerBy: Megan McDonald

Illustrated By: Peter H Reynolds

Stink uses his money to get himself a jawbreaker, but he soon finds himself disappointed as it doesn’t break his jaw. Stink decides his best course of action is to write a letter of complaint to the company that makes the jawbreakers. This turns out better than he hoped because he gets a huge box of jawbreakers sent to him. Due to his success Stink decides to write a whole lot more letters in the hope he will get more stuff sent to him.

Grandma send Stink some glow in the dark pyjamas to wear to the school sleepover, even when things goes wrong it’s not so bad because Judy does something cool to fix it. Then it seems his best friend Webster isn’t talking to him and Stink doesn’t know what he has done wrong. Turns out that Stink in his excitement at getting big things in the mail overlooked a very important small letter.

A fun instalment from the world of Stink. These stories show what you can do and what some important things are that may be easy to miss. Stink is a bright character, who is proactive in things he does. The stories are a lot of fun and perfect for early readers who want the challenge of a chapter book that isn’t too tricky for them.

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Published: 12 February 2013

Format: Paperback 118 pages

Categories: Family, Friends

ISBN 13: 9780763664206

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of page

 

Category:

Fiction 4-9

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