Ill. Jack Noel
Pub. Scholastic (2021)
Age Range - 7-11 years
10-year-old Freddy Spicer writes letters to his parents - who he believes are working at a Brussels-sprouts farm in Outer Castonga, with no internet or phone access. In fact, Freddy's parents are secret agents out of the country on a highly classified mission – but Freddy has NO IDEA! Throw in:
- Grandad’s X-Ray specs
- A laser blaster that accidentally destroys the shed
- A strange new neighbour flirting with grandad and
- Suspicious goings-on at school...
So entertaining and off-beat, we devoured it in a single week. The class enjoyed the humour and spotting the little references to the world of spies. Constructing an entire novel out of letters, postcards and newspaper headlines was really original, and it was a clever way to unfold a story in which characters can't interact in person. My only gripe was the choice of fonts sometimes made it difficult to read out loud fluidly. This never detracted from enjoyment, but did slow the flow of the story on occasion.