john larkin – Aussie Reviews

Stories for 6 Year Olds, edited by Linsay Knight

Kids love stories that are silly, accessible and quick to read – and Stories for Six Year Olds addresses all of these criteria, with eleven stories in the one volume, targeted for solo reading (or read-aloud with an adult) by readers of around six years of age.

Some of the stories appear here for the first time, with others being brought back to life for a new generation of readers. Parker=Hamilton, for example, was written by Robin Klein in 1984 whilst The Stuck-Tight Tooth is new from Dianne Bates. Other authors include Sophie Masson and Victor Kelleher. Illustrations, in black and white, are by Tom Jellett.

The stories can be read individually or read cover to cover and will stand repeated readings, either aloud or individually.

Stories for Six Year Olds, edited by Linsay knight, illustrated by Tom Jellett
Random Hosue
2012
ISBN 9781742756646

Available from good bookstores or online.

Goon Town, by John Larkin

So the group blasted a hundred million years into the past to write a report on Goon Town in the Cretaceous period comprised a shopper, and Irish dancing stat semi-finalist, a good adder-upperer and someone who could order yum cha in Cantonese provided the waiter spoke slowly.
‘Let’s face it,’ said Jade. ‘We can’t do anything.’

When Ms Phossil sets homework on the first day back at school, Leon, Paige, Dermott and Jade are unimpressed. Not only do they not like each other, but they’ve been given an impossible task – to prove that the extinction of the dinosaurs was the result of something that happened in Goon Town.

Soon, the four group members are on a mad quest that involves doughnuts, clotheslines and the discoveries of a mad professor. They may not make it out alive.

Goon Town is a funny tale of adventure coupled with a light lesson in friendship and tolerance. There are plenty of madcap moments, coupled with impossible but humorous twists and turns which keep readers guessing and giggling all the way to the end.

Suitable for ages 8 and over.

Goon Town, by John Larkin
Scholastic, 2008

Harry Highpants and the Salivating Beast, by John Larkin

To most people Harry Highfield was just an ordinary boy. Okay he might have worn his pants a little higher than you would expect, but otherwise he seemed perfectly normal.
During the school holidays, however, Harry would put away his homework, get out his cape and become a superhero.

When Harry’s brother Wayne the Pain loses his favourite cricket ball over the fence, Harry has a chance to use all of his (non-existent) superhero powers to retrieve it. The first problem is how to get over the fence. Wayne solves this. He can make Harry fly, with a little help from a spinning clothesline. Then all Harry has to do is get the ball away from the salivating beast which is guarding it.

Harry Highpants and the Salivating Beast is a fast paced and humorous junior novel which is also easy to read. Harry’s adventures are silly and the illustrations, by the talented Heath McKenzie, are filled with comic detail and sure to bring a smile to a young reader’s face.

Part of the new ABC Kids fiction series, Harry Highpants is lots of fun.

Harry Highpants and the Salivating Beast, by John Larkin, illustrated by Heath McKenzie
ABC Books, 2007

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