Bored by Matt Stanton. Pub. HarperCollins, 2020

Milo Kim lives in Turtle place which is just off Mars road and he is bored. He is pre teen and has a crush on the girl two houses away named Evie Watson, who ignores him.

On the day that a new kid, who calls himself Frog, moves in next door, Milo finds a $105 on the road in two notes $100 and $5. You and me would pocket the money and say nothing but Milo is honest and wants to know who owns it.

Rocco, a slightly older kid and a bit aggressive decides the money is his without any evidence and tries to bully Milo into giving it to him. Frog comes to his rescue. Frog has his own martial art called Frog-Fu. I like Frog, he is inventive, imaginative, brave and can talk the hind legs off a donkey. Rocco is not amused.

Who does belong to the money? Read this compelling short novel with big easy print and find out for yourself.

Matt Stanton is the author of the Funny Kid series many of which are reviewed on this blog. Reluctant boy readers will love this as will girls.

The Wonky Donkey and other stories by Craig Smith, illus. Katz Cowley & Scott Tulloch.

The Wonky Donkey and other stories by Craig Smith, illus. Katz Cowley & Scott Tulloch. Pub. Scholastic, 2019.

Five stories by Craig Smith with a CD singing all 5 stories, in a solid hard covered picture book. There is great value in that and lots of entertainment for children.

The famous Wonky Donkey is first up and we all know that story.

Willbee the Bumblebee unravels his black and yellow jersey while getting nectar to make honey. He doesn’t like being naked but he has friends on hand to help him out.

My Daddy Ate An Apple is a hoot as daddy zebra eats an apple with a green worm inside. See what it does to him and how he gets rid of it.

Square Eyes is about a lazy panda who watches TV all day. This was prompted by the knowledge that pandas do nothing except eat and sleep. They are even too lazy to make baby pandas and need assistance from humans. It has a great message that reading is better than TV.

The Scariest Thing in the Garden is a story like the little old lady who swallowed a fly only with a brussels sprout in there. Good laugh.

The illustrations are bright, witty and superbly enhance the stories.

Me Too by Erika Geraerts & Charl Laubscher, illus. by Gatsby.

Me Too by Erika Geraerts & Charl Laubscher, illus. by Gatsby. Pub. Walker Books, 2018.

The authors and illustrator are clearly in a good place with this excellent picture book.

The simplicity of the written text is matched by the illustrations and it is the sort of book that makes you say aww! when you finish it.

Boy and girl talk about qualities they would like in a person to share their lives with. After each states a quality in turn the other says “me too“‘

It begins with the line “I hope I find someone who wants to go on adventures every day” and ends with “I hope I find someone I like…as much as I like you”

The children are young and simply drawn with childhood activities around them. They have their dreams too. If only life were as simple as this. Aww!

I Need a New Bum and other stories by Dawn McMillan, Illus. Ross Kinnaird.

I Need a New Bum and other stories by Dawn McMillan, Illus. Ross Kinnaird. Pub. Oratia, 2017.

Three short illustrated stories in rhyming text on the poo, bum wees theme that are certain to attract reluctant primary and intermediate readers particularly boys.

Many people are not happy with their bums and when a boy discovers a crack in his, he wonders how it got there and considers a range of replacements with great hilarity. It’s not permanent though as he discovers that his father has the same crack. Don’t we all?

Seagull Sid plots to get all the humans off his beach in the way that seagulls always have, only with accuracy and persistence. Once again great hilarity all round.

Doggy Doo on my Shoe is more of a city problem especially if you walk in the suburbs. People are not careful or respectful with their dogs and doggy doo on the shoe is a common sight and smell. Once again great hilarity with Ross Kinnaird’s illustrations hitting the funny bone with regularity.

The Wonderling by Mira Bartok.

The Wonderling by Mira Bartok. Pub. Walker books, 2017.

Every now and then  there is published a book that raises the bar in Children and Young adult literature. This is such a book.

There is nothing new in  characters going through total misery in their quest to find out who they are or in the fact that the strong will dominate the weak. What is unique about this novel is in the superb way in which the story is told and in the richness of the language used.

The character who we learn later as the Wonderling was not always called this. He was abandoned at a young age with the number 13 on a metal disc around his neck which becomes his first name. He is a fox like creature with one ear and only 3 feet tall who is put in The Home for abandoned creatures run by a Dahlesque character Miss Clementine Carbunkle who feels hard done by.

The Home is a Dickensian type establishment where ill treatment of inmates is a daily occurrence. Number 13 barely survives until he saves a kiwi type bird creature named Trinket who masterminds his escape into the wild world to find out his identity.

His task is fraught with danger as he makes his way to Lumentown where danger lurks in every corner. He is driven by a love of music and knows that in music there is the answer to where he comes from. He is determined even when he is forced to hide in the underground city of Gloomintown from which there is no escape. See how he gets on.

Superbly written in three parts with maps and excellent sketches of all the characters. You will feel every emotion as you read this novel, you cannot help but become involved.

For fantasy/adventure readers from primary through to secondary. You will love it.

Some Eels by Amelia Harris.

Some Eels by Amelia Harris. Pub. Index press, 2017.

If ever a picture book deserved a better cover it is this one.

It is a simple tale that has much to say about friendship and how we cope when things get a bit murky.

Three eels start on a journey, they are not racing but you don’t want to get left behind. They enter deeper, darker waters and confide in each other until there is nothing more to say, so they start to hum. When they emerge from the murk they keep humming.

Beautifully simplistic hand written text with illustrations that are simple yet powerful. Three wriggly lines for the eels and shades of blue for the water.

I loved it and you will too.

Those interested contact http://shop.index.org.nz/product/some-eels

Middle School. Pottymouth and Stoopid by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein.

Middle School. Pottymouth and Stoopid by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein. Pub. Penguin Random House, 2017.

It was a miserable wet day and I needed something easy to read that would make me laugh and think at the same time so I grabbed Pottymouth and Stoopid. I was not wrong.

I love these Middle School stories they deal with serious issues like bullying, poverty, inequality, snobbery and friendship and they turn them into heart warming stories.

Pottymouth (Michael) is a black boy who invents new words that sound like swearing but are not. His friend is Stoopid (David) and they met at nursery school and are still friends at middle school. They are not as they are described by their school mates and are ploys to the old statement of “give a dog a bad name”.

Michael is a foster child and Michael comes from a broken relationship. Both boys and their mutual friend Anna Britannica are terrific. They have fun together but they have many low points that make them angry.

David’s father is a frustrated writer and a penny pincher but when he takes David and Michael to lunch one day he listens to their stories and this is to change their lives.

I do like a happy ending and am always on the side of the underdog. These are great stories for the reluctant reader, easy to read superbly illustrated by Chris Grabenstein and essential in every school library.

The World’s Worst Children 2 by David Walliams, Illus. Tony Ross.

The World’s Worst Children 2 by David Walliams, Illus. Tony Ross. Pub. HarperCollins, 2017.

You don’t need to advertise a new David Walliam’s book, the children all know before you do, so if you have never read one get hold of this and get part of the magical lunacy that catagorises his books.

In this book we meet ten improbable children with ten very real foibles that are exaggerated into a laugh out loud series of cautionary tales aimed at the reluctant reader.

Stacey wants to be a superstar but can’t sing and won’t be told. Frankie is fussy with his food and won’t eat vegetables, Harry never does his homework, Clarissa is cruel to cats and Colin wants to win everything that he does. Recognise some of these? Of course you do. Read it and find out what the other five are.

As ever Tony Ross interprets the written text with superb and equally bizarre illustrations that this time are in colour.

Simply written and very appealing, get hold of this quick before somebody reads it before you. There is no age limit on this novel and there will be a 3rd part.

Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland

Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland. Pub. Hot Key Books, 2016.

There is a Japanese art form called Kintsukuroi in which you take a bowl or plate or a pot break it into pieces and stick it back together again so that it becomes more beautiful for having been broken.

This really is a metaphor for the relationship that develops between Henry Page who narrates the novel and Grace Town a beautiful, mysterious, damaged and thoroughly weird girl. Henry wonders what it will be like to fall in love and when he first sees Grace he knows he is drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

Henry struggles to get anything going with Grace, they text each other, work together on the school newspaper but one day she is hot the next cold. Then he finds out about a deep sadness that Grace is carrying around. Henry wants to care for Grace and for her to recognise that they are an item but Grace slips into the abyss and forgets the world exists. Grace tells Henry that “stories with happy endings are stories that haven’t finished yet”.

Henry finds out that this is true. The novel also asks the question do men feel romance?. Do they crush on girls and go through the same heartbreak as girls do over boys?

Brilliantly written in a style that draws on film, book and music trivia with bold dialogue and great depth on what it is like to be growing up and seeking love. I read this in two sittings I couldn’t put it down. Thank you Linley for recommending it to me.

For teenagers and young adults who like the novels of John Green and grew up with Harry Potter, The Twilight series and the music of the Strokes and the Pixies.

Don’t miss this one you will kick yourself if you do.

Mr Postmouse goes on Holiday by Marianne Duboc.

Mr Postmouse goes on Holiday by Marianne Duboc. Pub. Book Island, 2017.

A splendid sequel to the first Mr Postmouse picture book which is also reviewed on this blog.

Mr Postmouse his wife and three children go on a World holiday, but of course a postmans lot is never done and he takes some mail to deliver as well.

They visit a forest and a beach then take a cruise ship to a volcanic island, a camel train across the desert and to other exotic locations.

Each two page spread has it’s own story to tell and detail for children to ponder over. For example in the forest we meet Hansel and Gretel on their way to the house made of sweets and gingerbread.

There are also little bubles that look at creatures living their lives underground, there is even an igloo.

Lots of fun in this easy to read publication.