I stood on the kitchen chair with the pantry door wide open. I shoved cans of tuna and soup to one side.
No, I couldn’t see what I wanted anywhere.
My mother walked into the kitchen. She said, ‘I’ve already told you, Tammy. That brand of tomato sauce isn’t available any more.’
‘But, but, but…’ I said.
Tammy loves tomato sauce, but not just any tomato sauce. She loves Aussie Tomato Sauce. She eats it with every meal, even occasionally with dessert! But the Aussie Tomato Sauce company has gone broke and now Tammy is in a desperate search to find the last bottle. She reasons there must be one somewhere. And she does find a last lonely bottle of her favourite sauce in the shop on the way to the beach. But that’s just the beginning of her adventure. Things get very tomato-coloured after that. Coloured illustrations appear on every opening and Tammy swims to safety across the ocean border at the bottom of (almost) every page.
The Mates series from Omnibus continues to produce great Aussie yarns. These tall tales are designed for newly independent readers. Potentially challenging words (or even just words for emphasis) are in different fonts. Chapters are short and the action bounces along. Tammy has a supportive, if long-suffering, family and an understanding best friend. Her school assignment knowledge comes in handy at the end of the story and helps get her out of trouble. Recommended for mid-primary readers. Great fun.
Tomato Sauce, Of Course! Moya Simons, Jim Grimwade
Omnibus Books 2010
ISBN: 9781862918801
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com