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Mr Bambuckle's Remarkables by Tim Harris arrived on the book scene last year and has been a huge success. Mr Bambuckle is not your usual teacher. (I think there might be a bit of Tim in Mr Bambuckle!) Imagine being in Room 12B and arriving at your classroom at Blue Valley School to find a new teacher balancing on a unicycle on top of his desk, with mischievous green eyes, wearing a dazzling blue suit and who can flick a frypan from his sleeve and whip up bacon and eggs for the class for breakfast!

Mr Bambuckle's way of teaching is not traditional and Mr Sternblast the principal desperately wants to get rid of him. The students however, thrive with Mr Bambuckle who has a way of knowing just what each of his students need. He encourages them to be creative, solve problems and become independent and brave. The Apps his students create can be a great spark for creativity in everyday classrooms. Mr Bambuckle is the only one who isn't afraid of Canteen Carol and their conversation about buying a bar of chocolate is lots of fun to read aloud! Some of the student's personal stories are revealed throughout the book and as readers we won't be looking at our washing machines in the same way, some might like the idea of Parental Rental and for others, drone flying will definitely on the To Do list.

Mr Bambuckle and the Remarkables Fight Back

In the second book, Mr Bambuckle is replaced by the nasty Miss Frost who 'makes Canteen Carol look like a teddy bear'. Miss Frost says that discipline is the new order. She gives detention at the drop of a hat, rips up perfectionist Victoria's handwriting sheets into tiny shreds and tosses the stickers and stamps the students designed into the bin. Thanks to Scarlett's magic fingers, she finds a creative way with PhotoCrop to get rid of Miss Frost so Mr Bambuckle can return to 12B.

The students in 12B have lots of adventures in this book. Many students will be relieved they don't have a buddy like Albert's buddy, Buster. Sammy's dad's mistake will get you thinking about whether 8 year olds should have the same rights as 18 year olds while some readers might like to take up Mr Bambuckle's challenge and have fun acting out imaginative ways to enter their classroom!

Unfortunately it's not the last of Miss Frost. Will Dodger be able to save the day? Find out in book three in September.

Happy reading!

'Every single word in these books is true. Except the stuff I made up.'

The Tom Weekly series by Tristan Bancks is back with a whole new look...new covers, bigger illustrations by Gus Gordon and more space inside. The first three rebranded books came out on April 1st.  This a perfect time to try out this funny and sometimes gross series if you haven't read it yet! These books are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud, your stomach squirm and you will want to keep turning the pages to see what Tom Weekly gets up to next or how he manages to wangle himself out of trouble.

I also recommend these stories as great fun to read aloud to a class and they generate lots of creative ideas for writing with students.

Some of my favourite Tom Weekly stories are Toe, Scab, The Good Boy, Meatball and of course Ninja Librarians.
Do you have a favourite Tom Weekly story?

Fans of Tom Weekly will be excited to know that the next book in the series called 'My Life and other Failed Experiments' will be out on July 1st.

Happy reading!

Mum took a deep breath and put her arm around me. "We have something to tell you, Nelson," she said. "We were waiting to see if anything would change today - on your tenth birthday - and it seems it has."

Nelson Kenny Kane is a nerdy kid who is unfit, uncool and trips over...a lot. On his tenth birthday he discovers he can see perfectly without his glasses and does an amazing double front flip to get out of bed to escape a spider! Nelson's life is about to change forever when his mum and grandma reveal he is a NINJA. With the help of his food loving cousin, Kenny and his inventor grandma's crazy gadgets and inventions made from junk, Nelson begins his ninja training and soon learns that strength is not just about a person's muscles. When the town of Duck Creek is terrorised by a terrifying Tyranno-Spider, it's Nelson's quick thinking that saves the day. However at the end of the action-packed day, Kenny is left with a big question...who was the angry man in the helicopter controlling the giant spider and why does he look familiar?

There's lots of action, laughs, creativity and problem solving in this book. Fans of Weirdo and Hot Dog will definitely enjoy the adventures as Nelson transforms from Nerd to Ninja!

Happy reading!

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Welcome to Wild about books!

I am Kim Yeomans, a teacher librarian who is passionate about reading and connecting kids with books and authors. Some of you will know me from my old Library blog.

We are lucky to have so many talented authors and illustrators creating books for us to read. The Wild about books blog is a place for me to continue to share books I have enjoyed reading as well as letting you know about author or bookish events that make reading even more fun. I'd love to hear from you if you have read any of the books here or you might have book suggestions for me to read. This is a space that I hope will grow and be a place that celebrates books and reading.

Happy reading!

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