'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Monday 22 March 2010

Review: Battle Boy: Open Fire


When Napoleon Augustus Smythe finds a mysterious note in the local library asking him to meet real life war heroes from the past, he can never imagine the astounding operations that lay in store. Operations you ask? That’s right – Operation Battle Book.

Wearing his special high tech ‘skin’ suit and equipped with all manner of cool, time-travelling devices, Napoleon (or agent ‘BB005’) opens his very first battle book which sends him screaming back to the past – to Spain in 1587 where he finds himself aboard the ship of the great Sir Francis Drake. His mission? to collect Drake’s DNA for the Warrior Gene Bank.

The first in this amazing series – Battle Boy: Spying on the Past – Carter’s books are designed specifically to engage reluctant readers and so feature large type and concise text that doesn’t compromise on a hightech vocabulary – perfect for cool dude boys in the primary school age range.

Younger competent readers will enjoy a reading challenge and older less competent readers will enjoy a totally rad storyline coupled with relatable text. The books also feature plenty of action-style illustrations and varying text type, making for a read that very dramatically combines history with cool. Education and entertainment?

The perfect book, really, and Dads in particular will love listening to their children read these historical, action-soaked and very clever books.

Other books in this rapidly increasing and popular range include:

Red Devil Down
Destroy Troy
Bloodaxe
Aztec Attack
Battle Bust-Up
Vampire Virus
Chariot Charge

Author website
Teacher's Notes


Title: Open Fire
Author: Charlie Carter
Publisher: Pan Macmillan, A$4.99 (series intro price)
Format: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN: 9780330425018
For ages: 5 to 9
Type: Junior Fiction