Jamie Brown is NOT rich by Adam Wallace

Ford St, 2014. ISBN 9781925000368
(Age: 6-10) Humour. Kids who love humorous books of the ilk - Diary of a wimpy kid, My life...(Tristan Bancks), Tom Gates and so on - will love meeting Jamie Brown and his family and friends.
Jamie and his family are poor - really poor - but his life is rich in other ways. Living alongside equally impoverished families in the old Grand Hotel on Hovel St, Jamie has quirky friends and loving family to compensate for the lack of dollars.
Then one day the Brown's lives change dramatically when a distant relative gives them a squillion dollars and the family is moved to a huge mansion in Snootyville and Jamie is enrolled at a very posh school. How will the Browns, and Jamie, cope with this unexpected turnaround in their lives?
Examining themes such as bullying and being accepted, whether money buys happiness and persistence, the book comedically charts the progress of the Brown's rags-to-riches story. Interspersed with the text which includes some very funky fonts are numerous, very expressive, cartoon-style illustrations, which successfully break up the story into very accessible chunks for readers who can be easily daunted by loads of writing.
No doubt you have many readers already familiar with Adam's style and this novel, which apparently was inspired by Happy Gilmore (certainly one of my favourite movies!) will be sure to hit the right spot for both boys and girls from around 8 upwards. You won't go wrong adding this one to your shelves!
Find teaching notes at Ford St Publishing.
Sue Warren