humorous stories

Atticus Van Tasticus (Younger Readers)

Linda J

Suspend all normal thinking. Suspend being a normal ten-year-old. Atticus wants to be a pirate!

He may not have known that, on the morning of his tenth birthday; but once he found his gift of choice at his Grandnan’s, that’s what he wanted to be.

In this rollicking tale from Andrew Daddo, Atticus does indeed become the leader of his pirate ship – once he has gathered together a motley crew. It is a story which will be enjoyed by kids and parents alike with fabulous quirky illustrations from Stephen Michael King, and hilarious asides from many curious characters. (Can you identify a certain world leader among these characters?)

Daddo plays with fun crew members –  Stinkeye, Fishface, Hogbreath, Wrong Wat Warren and more – and fun Aussie phrases like “landing like a butterfly with sore feet” and “(his breath was) worse than a fur seal on a hot day”. (Clearly, there is a lot here from his experience of growing up in a household of 4 brothers and 1 sister, living near the sea…)

‘Atticus Van Tasticus: It’s a pirate life for me’ is the first in the series (with The Map of Half Maps also published, and The Treasure of Treasures is due out soon.) All the books are more than just words on a page, so pause and read the illustrations too. And pause and think about the inventiveness of the crew of the pirate ship, Grandnan.

Older readers and parents might like to actually hear thoughts from the author in this interview from last year when Atticus was first launched. (You will need Facebook access.).

And here’s a small book trailer introduction to the first book.

A fabulous example of NOT suspending your imagination, and letting it roll about as much as you want. And another marvellous collaboration between author and illustrator, each contributing their own amazing talents to a fun series. Recommended reading for 8+ and their families!

#Who is your favourite character in this series?

## Available as ebook.

Andy and Terry’s treehouse grows…

Linda J

 

Every kid in the world would love to live in the places Andy Griffiths creates. Especially in his multi-storey treehouse! And especially as it has grown from 13 to 26 storeys since his last book, the 13-Storey Treehouse.

Not only does it have its own dodgem car rink, a skate ramp and an anti-gravity chamber, but you can choose from 78 different flavours of icecream and have them served to you by Edward Scooperhand! You just need to be careful when you do it, and in whose company.

Andy lives in the treehouse, we are told, with Terry. Cleverly, the story of how they met is interwoven in the tale – just be sure you look carefully at all the illustrations, so you get Terry’s point of view also.

When it comes to dealing with sick sharks (because they ate Terry’s underpants), they have to rely on Jill who seems to love all animals – well, almost all of them. Using her charms, and the help of Andy and Terry, she is able to conduct ‘open shark’ surgery. As they do this, they empty all sorts of things out of the shark, and the complications of the tale develop further.

There are lots of fun characters and events in the 26-Storey Treehouse; starting with Andy and Terry, the main characters from the The 13-Storey Treehouse. You will love all the improbable things that happen, and laugh out loud as Andy plays with words, and Terry adds punch with his drawings. You have to take the time to view both carefully together – and then go back again to see what you missed.

For more value, you can watch as Andy reads the first chapter of the 26-Storey Treehouse to a couple of children. See if you can catch things he adds along the way:

For lots more information about the series, and advice from Andy about the way he writes, go to: http://www.andygriffiths.com.au/.

Keep an eye out for the next instalment, the 39 Storey Treehouse, and Once Upon a Slime, which is “designed for teachers, students and young aspiring writers; it contains 52 fun writing and storytelling activities, such as lists, instructions, cartoons, letters, personal stories, poems and pocket books”.