One book I recommend everybody (and I mean everybody) reads is the I Hate Fridays Collection, which is all five books of this brilliant series set in a Melbourne suburb in an omnibus edition.
I Hate Fridays is written by Rachel Flynn, with illustrations by Craig Smith. It's a brilliant book, and it's only now that I'm older that I appreciate how cleverly it is written. It follows a group of schoolkids from Grade Four to Year Eight, with an Epilogue of 'Where Are They Now?'.
It's the kind of book that really grows with you - I loved it when I first got it, at the age of seven, and I love it now, although it has changed incredibly as I have gotten older and wiser. It's the kind of thing even adults can read.
The books are a collection of short stories, supposedly written by the (fictional) schoolkids, that interconnect with each other. You watch how the characters grow, you watch as they start to resemble your own schoolyard chums, and you learn to love them, even warty Mario Marati.
Seriously. Get it.
3 comments:
Yes, Rachel Flynn's work is quite accessible as an omnibus.
I remember getting I Hate Fridays from the library to read. The humour in it always made me laugh hard. It was quite subversive.
I enjoyed meeting Peter "the smartest kid in the grade" Karlos in the very first story, and how he gives a review of his fellow students.
The others are It's not Fair (Grade Five), I Can't Wait (Grade Six), Worried Sick (Year Seven) and the final one Messing Around. That final one has an interview with Rachel Flynn and with Craig Smith.
In the later books, yes, there is some clever writing and illustrating. I especially enjoyed Worried Sick and Messing Around where some of the stories were told in cartoons.
The ones I learnt to love were probably Martin Peters and Jeremy Skinner. Also Kerrie Street and David Pierce.
Kristy Dean is just bigger than life in the later books. It was humbling to go back to I hate Fridays and see what an ordinary girl she was.
And it was inspiring to learn that Thadeus Antwerp wanted to be a diplomat.
And Mario really shows his tender side with Melinda.
Great recommendation, Lady Renegade.
I was just thinking about this book. I read it ages ago and am pretty sure I don't have the book anymore but I remember Thadeus Antwerps name so thought I would try and recall the title by seacrhing his name and - success!
But I didn't realise it was a series!!! I only read the first book, this is sooo cool I am definately going to track down all the books and read them!
I love I Hate Fridays! I never actually realized it was published in separate books because my mother bought me the omnibus edition.
It's fascinating how the books evolve enormously as the kids grow. Rachel Flynn is really quite talented.
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