Paddy T. and the time-travelling trampoline by Adam France

Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760523763.
(Age: Year 3 +) Recommended. Paddy T. and the time-travelling trampoline is a romp of a book. It is in fact a collection of short stories about the mad-cap adventures of twelve year old Paddy T. as told in first person through his eyes.
This collection of short stories lends itself to being read out loud by teachers. I read the first story to a class of year 3's. They were captivated. The smiles on the faces of the listening boys in particular just demonstrated that the cogs in their brains were turning as they wondered what Paddy was going to be in for next. The trick for teachers is to hook them in with the first story and then there is a stampede to borrow the book.
There is a story about Paddy T. and his newspaper round where an interesting friendship develops with an old man, a story about solved writing problems at school involving a magic pencil, a story about a loved uncle who was a hoarder, a story that is more suited to older children that involves a school disco and crushes and more . . .
There are some wholesome messages embedded in humour in these stories. Zainal's illustrations are diagrammatic and onomatopoeia is a feature throughout.
Adam France is a teacher. He knows what hooks kids in. Lucky are the children who are in his class!
Wendy Jeffrey