Sunday 20 February 2022

Mr Bambuckles Remarkables Join Forces

Mr Bambuckles Remarkables Join Forces by Tim Harris, illustrated by James Hart (Puffin Books) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN 9781761044557

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Everyone’s favourite teacher, Mr Bambuckle, is back in another book in the Remarkables series with more stories, shenanigans, and silliness at Blue Valley School. 

In this, the fifth book in the series, the students in Room 12B have four new students -- Fern who loves animals, Twirl who loves to dance, Chip who likes computer hacking and Veer who enjoys playing the drums. Principal Sternblast is once again the thorn in the side of all: this time he is planning to use the Sprinkler Building Corp to privatise Blue Valley and fill it with only exceptional students. This is anathema to those in room 12B and they must find a way of changing this.

Just before term break, the class’s students are expelled from the school with only five remaining. Their new teacher Mr Stodge is a colourless, middle-aged man, nothing like Mr Bambuckle who rides a unicycle in the classroom and distributes free goodies to his students. Happily, thanks to Chip’s work on the computer, the government orders that the new school building is ceased until further notification. The book finishes with a new acting principal (Miss Frost), and Mr B and his class are reinstated and planning an overseas trip.

This fact-paced, humorous book uses a variety of writing genres to advance the story (eg speech balloons when Mr Bambuckle talks to Canteen Carol, notes passed between students, lists of emails, and love letters). At the front of the book are vignettes of the 17 students in Mr B’s class with their likes and dislikes. There are frequent black, grey and white cartoon-style illustrations to add to the general overall feel of the book.

Recommended for readers aged 8+ years.

 

 

 

 

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