Mirror Mischief (Oli and Skipjack's Tales of Trouble) by Ceci Jenkinson
| Mirror Mischief (Oli and Skipjack's Tales of Trouble) by Ceci Jenkinson | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Another tale of Oli and Skipjack's whacky silliness which will have you laughing out loud. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 160 | Date: December 2009 |
| Publisher: Faber Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0571249695 | |
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Sid from the pizza shop is on holiday in Africa and she's sent presents to her two best customers, Oli Biggles and Skipjack Haynes. Oli's present is a mirror and it's not just any mirror as it seems to have magical powers. It was perhaps unfortunate that Vernon Surd, the mean maths teacher who punishes anyone who can't do fractions and Slugger Stubbins, the school bully should be the ones at the wrong end of the magical powers but it seemed quite appropriate that the first should be transformed into a vulture and the second into a blue-faced baboon.
Well, obviously it was purely accidental and Oli had no intention of bringing about this transformation but the worst part is that he has no idea how to reverse it. Sid at the pizza shop knows that there must be a simple answer and rings the Zombie Witch Doctor who gave her the mirror – mobile phones are everywhere, you know! The answer is, indeed, simple and there's a gentle moral in the tale.
I laughed out loud at the story – there are parts where it's genuinely funny, even for an adult well past the target age group. The characters are excellent too. Oli and Skipjack are rascals, but good-hearted rascals. I really warmed to them and wanted everything to work out well. Ceci Jenkinson says that her two sons give her lots of ideas for the Oli and Skipjack stories (hopefully not the bit where they use a fearsome mask to scare the school bully in the early hours of the morning) but what I did like was that she resisted the temptation to make Oli's sister Tara into a silly girl. Tara comes across as a smart girl in her own right and is a real help to Oli and Skipjack.
So, a good and funny story, excellent characters – what else so you need? Oh, yes – there's the illustrations. They're brilliant. I loved Vernon Surd as the vulture and the picture of the school bully trying to see if, er, any other parts of his anatomy are blue will stay with me for a long time.
This is the sort of book which boys need. It makes reading fun – and what's the point of it if it isn't fun? Here at Bookbag we'd like lots more like this please Ceci!
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals to you then you must read The Spookoscope by Ceci Jenkinson. It's another tale of whacky silliness. There's no reason why girls shouldn't read Mirror Magic but they will certainly like The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies
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You can read more book reviews or buy Mirror Mischief (Oli and Skipjack's Tales of Trouble) by Ceci Jenkinson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Mirror Mischief (Oli and Skipjack's Tales of Trouble) by Ceci Jenkinson at Amazon.com.
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