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Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers... X Marks The Spot by Kate andJolTemple.Ill. by Jon Foye. Sydney:Allen and Unwin, 2017



Captain Jimmy Cook, who discovered third grade in his last adventure and won a trip to Hawaii to look for the belongings of his famous namesake, is back. And this time he's digging for buried treasure, right in the grounds of his school, following a map he is sure must have been left there by a pirate. Trouble is, when you have such a great idea, everyone else wants to get in on the act, including his rival Alice Toolie. The school grounds are soon covered with holes. The school puts a ban on digging.

And then there's the  school robot-making competition - and Alice Toolie's aunt, the same TV personality who had dreadful things happen to her in the last novel, back for more, as the judge...

The book has all the sort of entertaining silliness a child can want. As in the previous volume, reviewed here, Jimmy Cook just will not believe anything that contradicts what he has decided is true. Even if what he is digging up isn't a dinosaur bone or a chest of pirate treasure, there is still treasure. 

And as in the first volume, somehow things turn out for the best...

The illustrations are delightfulÅ‚y Andrew Weldonish in style. 

An entertaining read for children who enjoy Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.

Attention! Attention! Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade has just made it to this year's CBCA Shortlist for younger readers! Congratulations to the authors, artist and editor, and well done, Allen and Unwin! (My first and so far favourite book publisher, though I've had some good ones since then)

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