Little Lunch: Triple the Laughs by Danny Katz

Ill. by Mitch Vane. Black Dog Books, 2017. ISBN 9781921977398
(Age: 6+) Themes: School stories; Friendship; Food; Dress-up Day; Germs. Three stories, made into the successful ABC series Little Lunch, highlight the antics of kids at school. Little Lunch, or as some know it - 'Recess' - is a 15 minute interlude in every child's life when good things and woeful things can happen! The first story in this book tells the tale of the 'little, brown, smelly-wrap things' that appear in the lunchbox when Yaya takes over catering duties while Atticus' parents are away. In Atticus' mind, this is a disaster of gargantuan proportions. The second tale is based on the ubiquitous dress-up day, again another day in the school year fraught with unintended disaster. The final story, The Germblock reveals the problems associated with making a hasty call on a germ-riddled moment.
Each of these short stories is delightful, funny and revealing of the personalities of the school yard and the local customs or problems that can develop in a school context. Obviously as this is an enjoyable ABC television series, young readers will probably already have come to know these quirky personalities, and the book contains photographs of the young actors, as well as the eccentric drawings by Mitch Vane.
Young readers aged 6+ will connect with this easy to read book, but as the Television characters are in Year 6, older students will not be embarrassed to have this book in their reading collection for Silent Reading time (!), although it does take very little time to read. However, this may make a good book for those who might otherwise avoid reading.
Carolyn Hull