Book: UFO in the USA

UFO in the USA
Dave Hackett, 2007

Our school had a visit from Dave Hackett, aka Cartoon Dave for Book Week this year. Although he mostly talked about comics, we also got the chance to buy signed copies of his books, which is really an offer I couldn't refuse.

This book is the sequel to UFO (Unavoidable Family Outing) and follows the same hapless family as they head off to the USA in the pursuit of BRAD's dream. (BRAD has to be capitalised. It's a thing. It's also a thing to work out what BRAD stands for. Like Bad Reviews Always Die.) In typical UFO style, nothing really goes right, and they end up interacting with pigeons (not The Pigeon though), spandex-wearing jugglers, Elvis, world's worst gifts for Sophie and a couple of real life stars.

This is a completely wacky book and you're really not reading it for the deep character analysis or for any kind of sensible plot. Instead you read it to find out what BRAD explanation will come up next and what on Earth Dad will get up to. It ends up being highly amusing, even if it isn't highly logical.

Connect it to the other UFO books (and btw, grab Dave Hackett's cartooning books if you get a chance - they're really great), and the Just . . . series by Andy Griffith.

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Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
Jeff Kinney, 2010

Greg heads back to school, except this time he's without his best friend Rowley after a serious falling out. Now he's dealing with the pressures of growing up, boy/girl parties, the strangeness of family and a housekeeper who refuses to work - and he's all on his own.

Despite their popularity this was the first Wimpy Kid book I've read. These books have usually been owned by students in my class and passed around that way, so I've never needed to buy them for the classroom. But with the main fans heading off to high school, I realise I'll need to fill that gap.

This was a highly enjoyable read - one I didn't want to put down. Greg is an engaging narrator, and you can easily understand his embarrassments and annoyances - even if you aren't a wimpy kid yourself. My only quibble is that this book was 'Australianised' - Greg is in High School, not middle school and some of the language has been changed. It does a real disservice to Australian kids who have been watching US shows and reading US books for years and understand that this is an American book (a movie kind of keys you in to that) - especially when a really Australian word (like lollies) pops up and throws you out of the text.

I'd connect this book with Totally Joe and The Misfits, Dork Diaries (which seems to be enjoyed by both girls and boys), Amelia Rules and Mail Order Ninja.


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Book: Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late
Mo Willems, 2006

Have you met the pigeon yet? If not, get one of these books NOW! A friend of mine had been telling me about the pigeon for a couple of years now, but it was only this year that I finally got my hands on Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. It was honestly hilarious, my students loved it, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on another Pigeon book.

The idea of the book is simple. Right in the beginning, before the book 'properly' begins, we are asked not to let the Pigeon stay up late. Then the Pigeon appears and addressing us directly, he tries to convince us that he's not tired, really not tired and he should be able to stay up late. All accompanied with simple illustrations of the Pigeon.

The joy in this book is that it seems so simple up front, and it's very funny. Then you get your teacher hat on and you realise that you could use it to look at facial expressions, to look at persuasive speech (the Pigeon can be very presuasive) to look at direct speech and speech bubbles. I'd also connect it to the other Pigeon books and Neil Gaiman's The Day I Swapped My Dad for 2 Goldfish.


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Book: The Defense of Thaddeus A Ledbetter

The Defense of Thaddeus A Ledbetter
John Gosselink, 2010

I have a bit of a soft spot for smart kids who are all kinds of smart but don't always 'get' people. Probably because I was a bit like that myself. And I tend to teach a lot of kids like that. So it was inevitable that I would like Thaddeus A Ledbetter.

Thaddeus is in a bit of trouble. Actually, he's in a lot of trouble, serving a solitary in-school suspension for the rest of the school year. While he's there, he decides to make his case. Through his defense notes, notes his principal makes, emails to his uncle and letters from friends (snuck in by the lunch lady) we learn more about Thaddeus and why he does what he does.

This book reminded me a lot of books like the Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie, A View from Saturday and Loving Richard Feynman - all full of sweet, smart kids who don't really understand the world around them - mostly because it just doesn't seem to make sense. I'm really looking forward to putting it into students' hands next year.

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