Undone! by Paul Jennings

This book, a multi award winner, is another collection of short stories from Jennings and they all have twists in their tails. There are eight stories in all. Here is a brief summary about each...

Batty: This story is set in the bush and its all about a boy who has been raised by bats.

Moonies: An illiterate boy moves to a new school, and after signing a contract he can't read, discovers that he has to moon the principal. Now, this is definitely something that someone in their right mind would never do.

Noseweed: A boy is staying with his grandad and is a bit over all the healthy food he has to eat there. One day the boy has to drink cod liver oil that has been mixed with museli and he just can't bring himself to swallow it. That is when a strange sprout appears from his nose.

Wake Up to Yourself: This story is about dreams and reality and there is a young lad who can't distinguish one from the other and all the problems that are associated with this.

Thought Full: Set on a farm this tale features a magic bottle. Now when you drink from this bottle it enables you to read other peoples' minds.

Clear as Mud:er Imagine becoming invisible when you are bitten by a bug. Well in this story magic, biting bug meets bully boy Eric Mud who is about to get much more than he bargained for.

What a Woman: Sally doesn't want to go to school, and you can't really blame her. You see, she is the only girl in the school. The boys are relentless in their bullying of her but one day something happens to turn her luck around...

You Be the Judge: If you eat someone, you are a cannibal. What are you then, if you drink someone? Is this even possible. This story is set in the desert and the main character is in a desperate situation.

There are three copies of this book in the Little Library of Rescued Books so you could read it along with a couple of friends.

Here is the covers from the other version of the book. This one overlays the one below.

Singenpoo Shoots Through by Paul Jennings

This is the third book in the Singenpoo series. Scott has since left the take-away shop and is now working for The Boss in a carnival doing shows with Singenpoo. Most of the other acts in the show are fake and The Boss doesn't believe that Singenpoo really can read. Scott even has his own caravan to live in but something at the carnival is not right, there is a sad old man there called Jack who seems to be being held captive there. Singenpoo takes a real liking to Jack and Scott is determined to find out what is the big secret about Jack.

The Paw Thing by Paul Jennings

Scott works at Major Mac's take-away chicken joint and there he become acquainted with Singenpoo the cat. Why such a weird name for a cat? Well, it so happened that Sigenpoo once swallowed a radio and as a result her owner, Mac, made her sit her on a chair every evening with her mouth open so he could listen to the news. She also had to follow him around everywhere so he could listen to music. One day, Mac found a cat poo singing the song "Please release me, Let Me Go" and that's when he recovered the radio. Anyway, Singenpoo wasn't much of a mouser and Mac was not hapy with her at all, and even less so when his secret recipe for making delicious fried chicken goes missing and a rival take-away is selling chicken that tastes suspiciously like his recipe. Singenpoo gets the blame and is going to be put down, and that's when kind-hearted Scott comes to her rescue. This is a humorous story and the illustrations by Keith McEwan add to the comical situations. It's a small book and could be read in one or two silent reading sessions.