I read these as a kid, and I'm now reading the stories to my year 3 class while I'm on my teaching practicum! They absolutely love these stories.

(... the only problem is, some of the stories are more mature than others, so I've had to skip a few so as not to piss off some parents.)

But the kids absolutely love these stories. They're absolutely rapt, they shush each other if someone talks while I'm reading. The cool thing about this is that these stories are really Australian - there's some definite Australian slang in there, and there are even landmarks and places in Australia mentioned.

These stories are completely bizarre and absolutely wonderful. I love reading short stories to kids - they're quick and easy and help to get them settled. They all groan and whine when I have to stop, but it's nice to get such good feedback from them.

When speaking to my supervising teacher, she said that so many have improved their reading because they've been motivated to read the stories on their own.

Jennings isn't condescending. I love that because so many children's authors can talk down to their readers. He's cheeky, clever, and absolutely wonderful.

Reading these stories over again has made me realise how much I loved Jennings as a kid and how much I still love him now. ( )