My Friend Percy’s Magical
Gym Shoes
Ulf Stark is Billy’s new favourite writer ever. He says this book is hilarious, and his Dad thinks so, too. Billy’s Dad says he had a friend a bit like Percy when he was young – a tough guy with a soft heart who got them both into trouble all the time. Billy says his favourite part of the story is when Percy and Ulf are spying on the lady in the pink corset and Percy pings her with his pop-gun.
Two Cans of Corned Beef and a Manulele in
a Mango Tree
Billy and Teuila and Joseph and Philimon and Georgie all recited this at last year’s Christmas show and Billy says it’s still his favourite, though he likes Angel Mae because he was an angel too in the Christmas play when he was five. Billy says his Dad says Two cans is a blessed relief - no snow or robins or pine trees, but jandals, lavalava and tapa…Christmas in the sun like normal!
Lady Long Legs
Billy has been reading this book to his little sister, Tosca - which Ms Love says is quite an achievement since he finds reading out loud extremely difficult and mostly has other people read to him. He says Tosca loves the book because it's about a new girl at school - Nisba - who uses her brains (and her long legs) to get the better of the older bossy girls who are trying to push her around. Billy says the teacher in the story is a bit like Mr de Luca. Ms Love says Jan Mark does excellent teachers in her stories. She says they always show kindness mixed with a large dollop of irony. I looked up irony and it turns out to be the kind of humour you use when you're being ironic. I think irony is a big adult thing.
Frindle
We've all read this book but Billy's just discovered it because he got it for Christmas and his Dad's been reading it to him. It's about a boy, his teacher (who's obsessed with language and the dictionary...hmm, who does that remind me of?), and what happens when the boy invents a new word. Byron tried to invent a couple of words after he read this, but they never really caught on (unlike what happens in this book)...Billy is intrigued, because he has such trouble with reading and writing and understanding words...he finds 'looking up the dictionary' a Big Ask...he says inventing new words could be the solution for him. He says the best thing about this book is that it's hilarious. His Dad thinks so, too.
The Runner
This is the first book that Billy has read absolutely by himself. It’s not too long and the print is big, but the story and the words aren’t at all babyish. It’s about a boy who runs away from home on a huge Intercity train and meets another boy who’s doing the same thing. Apparently. The black and white pictures are very good. I’ve been trying to do charcoal pictures like that. Billy says the best thing is the twist at the end of the story.
There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom
Billy’s Dad reckons the boy in this book is a bit like Billy…one minute he’s making you laugh your head off because he’s so funny; next minute he does something that makes you want to bawl. This is the third time Billy and his Dad have read this book because they like it so much. Billy’s favourite character is the school counsellor; he reckons she’s a lot like Ms Love. Billy’s Dad’s says he wishes there’d been a book like this around when he was a kid…life would have been better.
Charlotte’s Web
This is Billy’s Dad’s favourite book and he’s reading it to Billy, a chapter every night. Billy likes it a lot because Charlotte the spider is so clever, and also an excellent speller (unlike him). He says he gets very tense worrying about whether Wilbur the pig is going to get eaten, but he’s hoping it turns out okay. I am keeping quiet about
the end.
The Welkin Weasels: Gaslight Geezers
by Gary Kilworth (Billy’s favourite author)
Billy loves books with talking animals. He said this is his favourite Welkin Weasels so far because it’s funny and it’s set in Victorian London. His Dad reads him two chapters every night.
Tashi and the Forbidden Room
Billy is extremely pleased because it turns out there are heaps of Tashi books. They’re all about Jack and his fantastical friend, Tashi, who comes from a distant land and tells fabulous stories about his adventures. Billy says the best thing is that the books aren’t long and have good pictures - and he can read most
of them by himself.
The Quigleys
Billy read this book by himself, too! There are four separate stories and they’re not too long so he says they’re manageable. And funny. There are four people in the Quigley family – Mum, Dad, Will and Lucy…Billy says they’re kind of ordinary and do ordinary things, but their life is somehow really funny. He’s read some of them aloud to his Dad and he likes them, too.
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