Arno the Garbo by Gary Crew & Craig Smith

Arno the Garbo by Gary Crew and Craig Smith is an off-beat book about a boy who basically, smells like and looks like garbage. You see Arno lives smack bang in the middle of a tip and this of course makes him the target of many jokes at school where he is known as Rat Head, Stink Bum, and Arno the Garbo. Academically, his performance is dismal and he has no friends. In fact his only consolation in life is his ability to make amazing inventions out of garbage. One day he decides to build a mechanical boy in his own image; the replica turns out to be smart, heroic and popular with the girls, and best off all minus the junkyard pong. This is certainly not in my top five favourite Gary Crew books, nevertheless the quirky illustrations by Craig Smith are up to his usual standard with many jokes to be had from the illustrations.

I Hate Fridays by Rachel Flynn

Well I must admit I love Fridays, because the weekend is just around the corner. This is a book of diary entries written by the students at Kola Hill Primary. Read it to find out just why they hate Fridays. The first character introduced in the book. Is Peter Karlos. He is shown to be completely arrogant and holds a very high opinion of himself, believing himself to be more intelligent than all of his peers in the 4th grade. Kathryn is the second character introduced in the book. She is a smart girl but also holds an extraordinarily high opinion of herself (much like Peter) and is incredibly pretentious. Joan Smith is Kathryn's best friend at the beginning of the series, although as the series progresses she becomes more of an independent character in her own right. Sam Lancer is portrayed as a typical immature grade school boy who revels in many gross and puerile things and loves being able to constantly humiliate and tease the girls. David Pierce is a relatively normal boy and best friends with Thadeus after having to sit next to him in 4th grade. He is also the object of many different girls' affections.

The Giant's Tooth by Gillian Rubenstein

One day, during their summer holidays, Tania and Troy find a giant tooth on the beach. Beside it, scrawled in the sand, is a mysterious message. This is a magical adventure, the sort of adventure that only happens to children, and then only once in a lifetime. Gorgeous ink illustration; I always love Craig Smith's illustrations. This book has been made into a fifteen minute film.