About the Author

Morris Gleitzman grew up in England and came to Australia when he was sixteen. After university he worked for ten years as a screenwriter. Then he had a wonderful experience. He wrote a novel for young people. Now, after 36 books, he's one of Australia's most popular children's authors. Visit Morris at his website- morrisgleitzman.com

Reviews

Gr 4-7-Australian author Morris Gleitzman's collection of 15 humorous short stories are told in first-person narrative. They feature quirky characters, some new and many old friends from the author's previous novels who find themselves in some amusing and out of the ordinary situations. In "101 Text Messages You Must Read Before You Die," Rowena's father, through a series of text messages to his daughter, tries to get a handle on texting only to discover that after sending 101 of them, he overlooked a crucial step. In "Odd Soques," Macque (Max), who wishes his parents hadn't given his name such a unique spelling, may finally overcome this obstacle when he's rescued by the Unfair Name Rescue Squad led by Shorn (Shaun), Jeen (Jean) and Kaitye (Katie). Among the other tales are "Greenhouse Gas," "Cornflakes," "My First Ever Go at Bomb Disposal," and others. At the end of the last CD, Gleitzman identifies the characters in the collection that have appeared in his earlier works. Narrated by Gleitzman and actress/singer Ruth Schoenheimer, who both sport authentic Australian accents, these stories are fun and will appeal to boys and girls. A great choice for reluctant readers.-Amy Joslyn, Fairport Public Library, NY Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.