Little lunch: Triple the trouble by Danny Katz and Mitch Vane

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Black Dog Books, 2017. ISBN 9781925381825
(Age: 8+) As seen on ABC TV, Little lunch follows the stories of Battie, Atticus, Debra-Jo, Tamara, Rory and Melanie in the fifteen minutes of Little lunch. The novel is split into three hilariously entertaining stories and includes profiles of the characters and photos of the actors who play them in the TV show. The best part is, the books are stand alone in that readers do not need to have seen the show to be able to follow.
In Triple the trouble, nerdy Debra-Jo is acting weirdly after seeing a van that says 'Body Bus'; naughty Rory is put in charge of the class when it was rained out; competitive Tamara starts her version of the Olympics only including events that she is sure to win. The bubbly characters are all very different but are well developed throughout the novel, particularly the distracting, naughty but extremely likeable Rory. The comic style companion illustrations add another level of humour to the already fun book. The by-line 'a lot can happen in fifteen minutes' is definitely true in this case.
The series is available in either single form, or in an omnibus of three books each. Students who enjoy the comedy genre, like the real-life but huge misunderstanding type of scenarios or who simply like a quick but funny read will really enjoy this book, and would also be a good one for a Middle Primary class novel, though it isn't very long.
Clare Thompson

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