charlie carter – Aussie Reviews

YAHOO!
Napoleon loved hurtling through time. It always took his breath away.
‘How exciting is this, Skin?’
‘Excitement is not in my Behaviour Reaction Bank,’ said Skin.
‘Sorry,’ said Napoleon. “I keep forgetting you don’t have feelings.”
‘Apology unnecessary,’ said Skin. ‘My non-existent feelings were not hurt.’
Skin hummed and buzzed as his nano-computers targeted their location.

Most of the time, Napoleon is a fairly normal boy, but when his friend Professor Purdis needs him, he becomes Battle Boy 005, hurtling through time to experience famous battles, fix problems and gather evidence of what happened.

In Aztec Attack Naploeon finds himself in 1519, on a mysterious mission in Mexico, and in Battle Bustup he needs to untangle two famous battles that have somehow got tangled up.

These two are offerings 5 and 6 in the Battle Boy series a fast moving time travel series blending military history with the marvels of high-tech gadgetry and time travel.

likely to appeal to middle and upper primary aged readers, especially boys.

Aztec Attack and Battle Bustup
both by Charlie Carter
Pan Macmillan, 2010

These titles are available from Fishpond by clicking on the titles above. Buying through these links supports Aussiereviews.

Noise and fog and screaming wind were all around Napoleon. The skin on his face stretched as tight as a drum, and he thought his ears would burst.
‘ WHOA…’
He heard his scream echo around him.
‘Please relax, BB005,’ said Skin. ‘We are currently travelling through time and space.’

Napoleon Smythe loves two things – military history (especially battles) and books. But he little expects that those two loves will combine in such dramatic fashion. The librarian at Napoleon’s local library isn’t really a librarian at all – she’s actually an undercover special agent in charge of Operation Battle Book. She needs Napoleon to travel back in time to the scenes of the great battles of history, to solve mysteries and collect DNA.

On his first mission, Battle Boy (Napoleon’s operative name) lands on Sir Francis Drake’s ship, just in time for a big battle. But travelling through time is not without its problems – and it isn’t all smooth sailing.

Open Fire is the first title in the new Battle Boy series from Macmillan. This high interest, yet easy to read novel will appeal especially to boys in middle and upper primary, particularly those with an interest in war, the military or action.

In the second title, Red Devil Down , Napoleon’s adventures continue when his second mission takes him to the scene of the Red Baron’s demise in 1918. Again, there is plenty of action and adventure to keep young readers absorbed.

The blend of time travel with military history works well.