Steve Voake

I completely fell in love with the first Hooey Higgins book, Hooey Higgins and the Shark and continue to encourage new readers to pick it up. Sadly, it doesn't go out as often as I think it should, which I largely attribute to only one in the series being available in the US. But weep no more! Hooey Higgins is COMING.

Hooey and his best friend Twig are not having a good day. First, their class blatantly ignores the Health and Safety rules Miss Troutson has been teaching them, especially the show more bully Basbo, which ends in Twig being menaced with a stapler and facing potential retribution from the bully. Then there's the contest for the best safety design; Twig and Hooey would like nothing better than to win free tickets to the fair, but can they come up with a design, avoid Basbo, and possibly get the attention of the amazing Samantha Curbitt before Monday?

Luckily for the boys, they have the amazing (although sometimes eccentric) genius of Hooey's brother Will and in a hilarious (if not particularly surprising) plot twist, their design is...well, not exactly successful but it all works out in the end.

I will admit that I am not a big fan of Dodson's cartoon illustrations. I find her faces, especially the heavily outlined eyes and straw-like hair to be a little creepy. However, they do fit in well with the imaginative wackiness of the story and will reassure reluctant readers who are just getting into chapters.

This series is just fun, plain and simple. It's not meant to be a realistic picture of a child's inner life, teach the values of friendship and communication, or inspire anyone. It's hilarious, ridiculous, and really rather British. I love it and now that more books are coming out I am strongly hopeful that I can convince more kids to love it as much as I do.

ISBN: 9780763669232; US edition published 2014 by Candlewick; Purchased for the library show less

Humor is so individual but I found this book quite funny. Hooey is in his own world surrounded by a brother and best friend who are also in their own worlds and their connections to reality is tenuous. Hooey and his friend Twig have their eyes on a huge chocolate egg in a storefront window. They enlist the help of Hooey's brother Will (the planner) in a ridiculous scheme to raise money to buy it. They do end up with their chocolate desires but in a completely unexpected way. There are quite show more a few British expressions but hopefully that will not stop readers. A funny gem. show less

When I looked at the brief summary on the back of this book, I admit that I was a little skeptical. The children's fiction market is currently saturated with fantasy books all vying to be the Next Big Thing, and so many of these are similar and distinctly average. I was, though, very pleasantly surprised.

The Dreamwalker's Child is raised above the level of the standard children's fantasy fiction by being not only exceptionally entertaining and light, but also containing much excellent show more characterisation and a real emotional depth, which isn't found often enough in children's fiction. The friendship between the two main characters is beautifully drawn, and is amusing and poignant by turns, but Voake has a very light touch; the deeper elements of the story are not heavy-handed at all. It all fits together beautifully.

At times, the plot felt a little rushed, but on the whole, I think that this is a very good book to give to children of the Harry Potter generation. show less

Steve Voake, author of the charming beginning chapter series Daisy Dawson, has started a new series featuring the irresistible Hooey Higgins.

Hooey and his best friend Twig have fallen deeply in love - with a giant chocolate egg! Unfortunately, they have no money but they do have Hooey's big brother Will, a master of planning. Together, the three boys set off to capture a shark and set up a show with it to earn money.

Hooey is wackier and funnier than Daisy Dawson, but also much more British. show more Beginning readers may find unfamiliar British words but there's nothing wrong with a little new vocabulary! Just as Voake perfectly captured the character of daydreaming, animal-lover Daisy, he's got a great set of characters in Hooey, Twig, and Will. Kids will love their insane exchanges as they set up their shark-catching plans.

"He took a deep breath and put his head to one side, listening for any underwater swooshing noises that might give the shark's position away. "Can you see it?" called Twig. "Not yet," said Hooey. "Maybe it's swimming upside down so we can't see its fin," Twig suggested. "Cunning," said Will. "Very cunning.""

While the boys' shark-catching scheme doesn't work out quite the way they had expected, they still manage their hearts' desire, if not quite in the way they had hoped. Dodson's ink and wash illustrations have a splatter effect, which added to her wacky stick-like figures fits the story well, although I find the characters' eyes a little creepy.

Verdict: Beginning chapters books continue to grow rapidly in popularity at my library as more and more kids look for easy books but want to move on from easy readers. Both boys and girls will enjoy this new series. Recommend to kids who like funny stories and won't be put off by a few Britishisms. Kids who have seen their older siblings reading Wimpy Kid but aren't old enough to tackle it themselves will also snap this up. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780763657826; Published April 2012 by Candlewick; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library show less