Changes

Michael Lawrence has created a very distinctive brand of humour in this series of books which, judging by the amount of awards and nominations he's received, hold a strong appeal for many young readers (and, to be honest, quite a few older ones, too). There's something rather comforting about the fact that no matter how clumsy you are, how ridiculous you look or how embarrassing your mistakes, you will never, ever, ever mess up as disastrously and publicly as Jiggy does. His wry tone as he recounts his latest disaster, his absolute conviction that no matter how bad something is, it can always get worse, and his philosophical, almost cheerful acceptance of his fate, make him endearing and very, very funny. The toilet-centric topics, the groan-worthy puns and the daffy names (how could a weekend organised by Roderick Basket-Case be anything but an unmitigated disaster?) will delight boys and girls alike and do more to encourage 'literacy' than a bucketful of educational initiatives. This isn't great literature, and why should it be? It's just sheer, silly fun from start to finish, and young readers will love it.