The Selwood Boys Hit the Road

The Selwood Boys Hit the Road by Tony Wilson, (Harper Collins)  SB RRP $14.99   ISBN 9780733335471

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

The famous Selwood Boys are back in book three of The Selwood Boys series. The Selwood family is going on a holiday to Queensland.  The road trip adventure begins with the Falcon six-seater leaving Bendigo for sunny shores.

‘They were away.

Three suitcases, four boogie boards, two footies, a frisbee, six beach towels, a beach umbrella, two Game Boys and six Selwoods.

At the one-minute-and-twenty-second mark, the boys had their first fight.’

The text is an easy engaging read, with splashes of humour. The antics of the four footy mad boys on the road create many memorable moments.  Troy and Adam are the mischief-making twins who are determined to discover Joel’s kryptonite.  Joel cannot possibly be an all-rounder at everything.  There must be something he’s not good at.  Scooter (Little Scott) joins in the mission in helping his older brothers.

Joel with his cheeky, sneaky antics knows his brothers are doing their best to catch him out.  He manages to keep one step ahead of them until… You see you can’t be good at everything and eventually there is something Joel desperately tries to hide.  You’ll just have to read the book to find out what it is.

This fun-filled story can be enjoyed from seven years old onwards.  It would also make a fantastic read for a teacher to share with a class.  The book is based upon the real Selwood brothers and all the funny things that happened to them.  The Selwood brothers are sports stars that were kids once and it’s interesting to see where their footy journey began in their childhood shenanigans.

Tony Wilson has used a mix of sentences from short to long and this really makes the reader feel like the text is speaking directly to them. Often it’s difficult to find books for sporty readers and this book fills the gap.

Book 1 is Battle Royale, Book 2 The Miracle Goal and Book 3 Hit the Road will be followed by Maintain the Mischief.  The books make a great set to collect. 

EJ Spy School: Hide and Peek

EJ Spy School: Hide and Peek by Susannah McFarlane, illustration by Dyani Stagg (Scholastic Australia)

PB RRP $7.99

ISBN 978-1-92193-165-9

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

It’s nearly Christmas and Emma Jacks loves everything about this time of year, especially Christmas secrets. Emma is very good at keeping secrets. She has a secret identity; Agent EJ, spy in training for SHINE.

One morning close to Christmas, Emma and her friends Hannah and Elle arrive at school early as their class is leaving on an excursion to Christmas Town to visit the Giving Tree. But before they can leave, Emma’s spy watch beeps and she knows she will not be going on the excursion. Emma is disappointed, but a good spy knows she must do her job and soon she is rushed off on her first official mission.

EJ’s mission is at the Giving Tree, Shadow is planning to steal the presents destined for underprivileged children, so she gets to see it after all as well as earning her Spy School disguise badge.

This story emphasises the giving side of Christmas. There is a code to crack, lots of Christmas disguises and plenty of the gadgets reader have begun to expect. This, and the whole EJ Spy school series, would make a great first chapter book for beginner readers from five years, with its large text, simple vocabulary, short chapters and active storyline.

 

The sweet illustrations break up the text and enhance the storyline and young readers can try to spot EJ when she is in her disguises.

This is the sixth book in the EJ Spy school series.