Jeremy Strong (1949–2024)

Book 154 - Jeremy Strong - The Battle for Christmas

I have already waxed lyrical over my love for Jeremy Strong’s witty and usually brilliant storytelling. This is another winner and another I hadn’t heard if.

It is also another fantastic story so suited to the classroom…so much art…so much literacy and even some mathematics could be drawn out of this.

A young brother, Max, and sister, Ellie, who are always arguing and not getting on are approaching Christmas with the usual level of show more excitement and trepidation.

Ellie receives an early gift…a set of pyjamas…but there’s an unusual letter with them…these are cosmic pyjamas…and the note…unsigned if course…states that the top should never be worn with the bottoms…why ? This is never said and the letter is unsigned.

Ellie decides this is silly and puts them…what follows is a fantastic journey to a fantastical realm where the bad fairies from the Christmas Tree are battling to destroy all their enemies…featuring wonderful characters like the Christmas Dove…who dive bombs at our heroes…create a giant Marzipan Man who wants to trample our heroes.

Ellie and Max have to push past their fears…including facing the fearsome monster from under the stairs…

It is so creative…help is always there for those who wear the pyjamas…

I loved that the story finishes with a sort-of cliffhanger…which looks like it may well be the first of a new series from Strong. Always brilliantly silly but such creativity after so many novels is a sign of an outstanding writer. More please. show less

Book 192 - Jeremy Strong - Indoor Pirates

Another journey into the dim and distant past of my early years as a teacher. Jeremy Strong is a wonderful writer of children’s novels…witty…silly but poignant and fabulous.

This story takes us to meet a group of ‘terrifying’ pirates…NOT.

In fact they are terrified of the water…so when their Captain…Captain Blackpatch inherits a house they don’t have to sail the seas anymore. Along with his crew Lumpy Lawson..the cook…Bald Ben…the show more first mate…who refuses to hurt people …and the rest of the crew, twins Molly and Polly…who always contradict each other, Blackpatch is the laziest Captain and a really bad pirate which is hilarious.

They are going to have their electricity cut off unless they get money…and soon.

What follows is like something from a Monty Python sketch…as they kidnap someone and demand ransom and then release the kidnapped gent to deliver the note.

All the characters have endearing traits…filled with the silliness we expect from Strong. A must read for any classroom and more importantly any young boy or girl. Love his writing…love his characters…love his insane silliness to come up with such wonderful tales time after time. show less

This is a classic odd-couple chapter book, a theme made popular by Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad, and now the established storyline for many easy readers and early chapters.

Each chapter presents a different vignette in the life of friends and roommates Armadillo and Hare. In the first, Armadillo wakes up to the unwelcome news that there is no cheese! Hare is not very helpful - he suggests that Armadillo is too fat and should exercise. But Armadillo has a better idea... In the following show more chapters the forest animals have a birthday party for nobody, Armadillo saves Hare from Jaguar, Hare plays his tuba (which blasts out all manner of strange things - fortunately they disappear) and there is a party, at which Hare firmly keeps Armadillo from dancing because in their previous practice he demonstrated that he definitely could not dance. They have philosophical discussions about themselves and eat lots of cheese sandwiches (at least, Armadillo does).

Black and white sketches show the shabby Armadillo, with his worn cardigan and shuffling walk, sprightly Hare, complete with dapper scarf, pants, vest, and tuba, and a variety of woodland creatures (and cheese sandwiches). This chapter book is about Magic Tree House level, with some more complex vocabulary and discussions. There is a tongue-in-cheek "recipe" for making cheese sandwiches at the back.

Verdict: While there are some kids who like these kinds of meandering, philosophical stories, they are definitely the minority. Added to that the opening with Hare telling Armadillo he's too fat and should diet and near the end where he won't let him dance because he's not good at it (at least not where there's anybody else around) and this is one I'd skip.

ISBN: 9781338540598; Published February 2020 by David Fickling Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

The 'indoor pirates' are a small bunch of childish and stupid pirates who, because they cannot stand water and the sea, live on land in an inherited house. All is more or less well until, they receive their electricity bill! Clueless, they decide that finding a treasure will help paying for it! It's a bit slow at the beginning but then, the mayhem and confusion just go crescendo in a succession of slapstick gags and silly jokes that are sure to entertain young ones. My boy (6 years old) was show more giggling all along and, some passages even made him laugh to tears! The end is nice too as, the poor pirates will discover that, there's more to living together than money and paying bills. A nice and funny little book, ideal for a good laugh. show less