AMAZING BOOKSHOP

Squishy Minnie is an amazing bookshop located in Kyneton, 60 minutes north of Melbourne. The owner, Kristen, is genuinely passionate about books and has an incredible knowledge of them. The shop focuses on children's and young adult books and is the type of place I can see kids and adults spending hours, if not days.

As a school librarian, I have a generous budget to purchase books and Kristen is extremely helpful in selecting books for me that kids will love! I emailed her a list of topics my schools were covering and a few days later she had created an account on her website for me. In the account where summaries of books she recommended and a picture of their covers. All I had to do was read through the list and delete the ones I didn't want (there weren't many at all, just a few I already had). She then shipped them all to me and the whole process only took a bit over a week. 

She recommended (and I bought so many great books), I now have two problems:
          1. I brought the books home and my own children have loved them so much they've secreted several in their rooms and I need to sneak them back out.
          2. I now must catalogue and contact all the books

I can't recommend Kristen and Squishy Minnie bookstore highly enough, as a parent purchasing for kids, for myself and as a teacher-librarian.
www.squishyminnie.com.au

Contributed by Matt Porter

Achievement

Matt Porter has become the principal of a new school! The educational facility is made-up and exists only on the internet, but that’s only a small matter. The school’s website has updates on incidents (in the likely event they will be used as evidence in future court proceedings) every Thursday. The school’s motto is:

Welcome to Everyday College P-12 – where every day is a new day … but still structured to support optimal learning, but with enough spontaneity to ensure student engagement … but not too many surprises as we pride ourselves on teaching the core curriculum … with enough scope to pursue learning opportunities as they arise.

Everyday P-12 School is situated in the north-east of south-west of Victoria, approximately 180 km from Melbourne. The town of Everyday has a population of approximately 6,400 which swells to over 6,415 during the annual Black Cat Lolly Festival. The school’s extensive grounds are filled with trees, open spaces and play equipment. In an achievement the school is extremely proud of, over 65% of the school grounds have recently been declared non-toxic by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The school tends to have staff and incidents that reflect common goings-on at schools across Australia. Such events include a teacher being scolded for labelling a learning group the Wombats, a staff meeting held in silence after the talking stick was misplaced and a parent busted running an Uber-eats style food delivery service to students.

Check out the school at www.everydayschool.com.au
and follow along with updates every Friday at www.facebook.com/Everyday-P-12-School

The Greatest Book in the World

Matt Porter's new picture book The Greatest Book in the World (Ford Street Publishing) has been released. It's a laugh-out loud read where the narrator speaks directly to readers while attempting to create The Greatest Book in the World. Rudolf Wordsmith requests that readers finish his rhyming couplets and admonishes them when they’re tricked into supplying a ‘rude’ rhyme. This trickery is achieved through clever text and the lively illustrations created by Dave Atze. As the readers’ ‘rude’ rhymes cause the illustrator to draw Rudolf in humiliating predicaments he becomes increasingly frustrated. This culminates in a surprising and hilarious ending that will have children howling with laughter.

Reviewed by Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, M.Ed. (TL), M.App.Sci.(TL), M.I.S. (Children's Services) This will appeal to that particular brand of humour that all boys seem to pass through as they emerge as independent readers, this is a LOL book that will have them gathered around and enjoying that collaborative reading experience that is also essential to their reading development. One to encourage boys to keep reading beyond the home readers...

Ms Runway and Australia’s next top merino

Ms Runway and Australia’s next top merino by Matt Porter (Celapene Press) PB RRP $16.95 ISBN: 9781925572124 (paperback), ISBN: 9781925572131 (ebook; epub), ISBN: 9781925572148 (ebook; kindle)

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Ms Southern, principal of Outback Creek school (school emblem a giant earthworm), is concerned about the fall in student numbers. But another problem facing the school’s sixth graders is that they keep getting crazy relief teachers. Their last teacher, Mr Crikey, headed outback to study the occurrence of double-yolkers in emu eggs but … drumroll! … enter the fabulously beautiful, globe-trotting Ms Jennifer Runway, Host of Australia’s Next Top Model. Immediately Runway sets the students a task – to work out ways of attracting more students to Outback Creek.

The result is Outback Creek’s Next Top Model; a modelling competition where the winner will star in a social media campaign to attract new students to the school.

The students of sixth grade are a stereotypical bunch from the bright boy (Nathan), the dumb kind (Pete), the bully (Radley, who is smitten with the new teacher), and the token tom-boy (Holly). Then there’s Radley’s off-sider Weasel and would-be model Brittany, who, together with the school assistant, Mrs Forbes, fronts up for the audition along with a now sartorial Radley. But what’s the fourth entrant? Here comes Pete Peterson with his pet sheep, Delta Goodram! Of course, there’s hot debate about whether a sheep can enter a top model competition, but sure, why not?

Throughout the book there is plenty of amusing banter among the students. Particularly funny (and witty) is an episode where brainy Nathan matches wits with his less-smart teacher about answers to questions asked of contestants about what to take to a deserted island. (Why not a speedboat to escape?) In fact, the author’s use of dialogue is the strongest aspect of this fast-paced, energetic and engaging novel.

It’s refreshing to find a book for children that has no literary pretentions but is sure to appeal to and be enjoyed by the average reader aged 8 to 11 years. This is the fifth book in the Crazy Relief Teachers series which surely indicates that the series has been popular. Perhaps there will be more to come?

Mr Crikey and the Greedy Griffith

Mr Crikey and the Greedy Griffith by Matt Porter (Celapene Press)

 Paperback RRP $14.95

ISBN 9780975074282

Reviewed by Margaret Warner

Take one enthusiastic year 6 class, introduce a crazy relief teacher and you have a recipe for unexpected adventures and outcomes.

Students of 6B at Outback Creek have a problem. The local Swimming Hole, surrounded by bush that is home to many species of native birds and animals is about to be sold to developers.  6B wants to raise enough money to buy the property but failing that they hope that their next relief teacher might be a billionaire or just a millionaire who will buy the property and save the Swimming Hole and the bush habitat.

6B doesn’t get their millionaire relief teacher but they do get Mr Crikey who bursts into the classroom wrestling a gigantic green and brown snake. He’s a wildlife warrior and just the right person for the task when it comes to helping 6B with their creative solution to outwit the unscrupulous businessman Benjamin Griffith and their two wily classmates, Weasel and Radley.

Mr Crikey and the Greedy Griffith is a fun read with lots of humorous descriptions and situations. It is the fourth book in the Crazy Relief Teachers series and will be enjoyed by primary aged students.

Crazy Relief Teachers: Mr Jackpot and the Stash of Cash

Crazy Relief Teachers: Mr Jackpot and the Stash of Cash by Matt Porter (Celapene Press)
PB RRP $12.95
ISBN 9780987367723
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

The third book in the Crazy Relief Teachers series is just as outlandish as all the previous ones. Mr Jackpot, the game show host of Stash of Cash, is the new relief teacher to Grade 6B at Outback Creek Primary. The class is convinced that he has come to splash cash around to the most deserving, as this is what he does on his show. They get excited, especially Steele who dreams of getting new goal posts to replace the old rusted ones that were removed long ago so they can practice footy and take part in the Outback Creek Cup.

But the class’s first impression of him is that ‘his brain has spun up bankrupt’, for the challenges he sets out are as corny as the jokes and games they become part of. But in the Crazy Relief Teacher tradition, the class joins in the fun amidst endless, clever game show puns.

But there are surprises. Mr Jackpot invites the grumpy and long suffering Mr Thompson, whose house borders with the school oval, and who is always complaining about the footy being kicked into his yard, to appear on This Was Your Life. As in every situation, there are always two sides to every story. The content of the show reveals unexpected facts about Mr Thompson and family, and brings about a surprising resolution to Grade 6B’s goal post dilemma.

There are lots of laughs to be had, and the impressive word play at which Matt Porter is a master, keeps the reader cackling as they speed through the story.

Crazy Relief Teachers: Ms Law and the Corn-fusing Case of the Broken Window

Crazy Relief Teachers: Ms Law and the Corn-fusing Case of the Broken Window by Matt Porter (Celapene Press)
PB RRP $ 12.95
ISBN 978-0-9806994-7-0
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Pete Peterson is determined to win the Corn-test trophy at the Annual Outback Creek Corn-fest. He has been waiting seven years to use his victory speech joke. Ms Law, the new Relief Teacher arrives on the day a ball breaks Pete’s class window in a before-school cricket match.

She sets up a courtroom to ascertain whether Pete is guilty of reckless behaviour and other charges, and therefore ineligible for the Corn-test. His friend Steele Buckle must find a defence for Pete or some evidence that will save the day. As usual, chaos reigns throughout the proceedings, until the indisputable evidence needed, is accidently discovered.

This is book two in the series which began with the incredible Mr Sergeant and the Dodgeballs of Doom. This is just as crazy (even crazier, if possible) with more play on words, especially corny ones. Every word that can be corn-figured is, and every page is a confusion of silliness and clever exchanges of words.

Matt Porter definitely still has all the joy of childhood alive and well in him, which he successfully transfers to the pages of this chapter book. His stories encourage reluctant readers to pick up a book and read because of their fun-loving content and smart language. The characters are all crazy and lovable. Outback Creek is the type of school that uninhibited children long to go to, and primary students love to read about.

These books are aimed at the 8+ age group, but older readers get a kick out of the clever way words are used and manipulated.