2018 Notable Junior Series

This year I have had the pleasure of reading many Junior fiction series which I have then been able to recommend to library patrons in my role as a Librarian.  However, I haven’t been able to bring them all to you individually, so I have picked four of these series that are worth reading, that your primary school children will love reading, and all have a running theme of working together.

Champion Charlies

I have so much respect for this series, and cannot encourage you enough to get these for your junior reader, particularly if they love Football/Soccer.  There is no secret that I love books written by Australians, but I also love that this series is developed in partnership with the Football Federation Australia.

I love this series because:

• They don’t always focus on winning, Adrian Beck also highlights what can be learnt from losing.
• The snippets of Football/Soccer facts.
• They books are funny, yet also tackle serious things without making the book too heavy.
• Easy to read with textual and graphic support.
• The main characters CJ and Charlotte Alessi are well developed, so different from one another yet somehow get their team working together through their chaos and differences.

Fun Facts – Adrian struggled with reading when he was younger and hopes that Champion Charlies might reach children who don’t often pick up a book and also inspires them to be active.

Other Worlds

The best way to describe the Other Worlds series is that it’s adventurous with a side of sci-fi and fantasy for 8 years and above.  In each book the characters travel to different worlds and come across Clones, a Major, Zombie-like humans and animals in clothes.  Each book features a key which is an integral part of the story.

I love this series because:

• The chapters are reasonably short which makes them a easy to read for a struggling reader.
• They are hard to put down as you get caught up in the adventure.
• They’re imaginative.
• Celebrates diversity.
• Teaches you about acceptance and friendship.

Fun Facts – The last time I saw George at an event he had blue hair and is very funny most of the time.  He is known to eat too much chocolate and is the author of 13 You Choose Series – I love these books.

Mr Bambuckle’s

I am a huge fan of the two that I have in this series and I highly recommend these books for your Primary School reader.  Simply, Tim Harris has written a series that is seriously funny and I would have loved it if my teacher at school was Mr Bambuckle’s.  They aren’t all fun though because there is a villain to keep the reader guessing, Miss Frost.

I love this series because:

• The books are silly and I love silliness.
• Feeds a child’s imagination.
• Mr Bambuckle’s is dazzling and rides a unicycle.
• Mr Bambuckle’s is unconventional but has the upmost respect of his students.
• They make you laugh.
• Helps build self-esteem of children.
• Fun to read together with adult/child.

Fun Facts – Tim Harris always wanted to play cricket for Australia and apparently pulls some interesting faces when he is writing.

Tom Weekly

The Tom Weekly books are also very funny, a little gross and eye popping weird.  Tom shares a lot about his life including his toes, teleportation, guinea pigs, nits and hover underpants.  If your Primary School reader likes a bit of crazy in their books then the Tom Weekly series certainly won’t disappoint.

I love this series because:

• They’re silly, the sillier the better I say.
• They motivate kids to read.
• They make you laugh.
• Easy to read.
• Tristan Bancks understands what Primary School readers want to read – particularly boys.
• Illustrations enhance the text.

Fun Facts – Tristan loves to inspire children to read and is a Writer Ambassador for Room to Read.

 

Thank you Penguin Books for the opportunity to read and review these books.