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

Saturday 11 December 2021

Review: Weird School

Is your school weird? Do you have a weird teacher? Is your playground strange?

I guarantee nothing at your school could possibly be weirder than Wally Park Primary, the weirdest school in Australia.

From alien students to uniform providing trees, the meanest principal in the world to kids who can change into animals, Wally Park is like no other school EVER!

Damian Callinan delivers giggles galore in this brilliant junior fiction book, which is actually a collection of short stories. Each one about Wally Park Primary, and all linked so by the end you feel like you've read one connected story.

You’ll go on a totally extreme and bizarre walkathon, discover a very special tree on school grounds, help your favourite teacher compete in the Olympics and outsmart the principal as he tries to thwart you at every turn.

Adele K. Thomas’s funky illustrations bring a brilliant spice to the book. On the very first page you'll meet and greet all the key players at Wally Park (to get a visual before you start to learn about these colourful characters), and then sprinkles of illustrations appear through the chapters from there.

Weird School is a wild and extremely fun ride. It’s a great book for classrooms, as each story can be read independently and would be gobbled up at story time with a group of kids. It would also be a great read if you’re not the biggest fan of longer novels, because you can read the stories out of order or take big breaks in between readings.

For kids aged 8 – 13 who love laughs and a half mixed with a big bowl of quirky, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of Weird School.

Title: Weird School
Author: Damian Callinan
Illustrator: Adele K. Thomas
Publisher: Puffin, $14.99
Publication Date: 3 August 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760893446
For ages: 8 - 13
Type: Junior Fiction