Tim Cahill (text), Heath McKenzie (illus.), The Big Break (Tiny Timmy #6), Scholastic Australia, 1 March 2017, 128pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781742764948
The Big Break is book 6 of the Tiny Timmy series, written by popular Socceroos player, Tim Cahill. It re-acquaints the reader with the likeable young soccer player, Timmy, and his travails on the soccer field and in life generally.
The title is a play on words referring to Timmy’s injury during play – a “fractured fifth metatarsal”. To his dismay he can’t play soccer for ten whole weeks. But with the support of his family, team mates and Coach Roach, as well as a good dose of humour, Timmy’s indomitable spirit prevails. The story is relayed through Timmy’s optimistic, “full of the joys of life” voice. He is a positive, yet believable, role model for the book’s main lesson that success comes through hard work and perseverance.
Even though I am not a sports fan, I very much enjoyed the humour in this book, and the general happy and lively tone. I love the likable and amusing characters – from eccentric Doctor Proctor to the oafish, loud mouthed bullies. Tiny Timmy stories are not just about soccer. They also deal with the ordinary challenges of everyday family and school life – and in this case specifically the challenge of being temporarily incapacitated. There is also plenty of plot development to hold the reader’s interest.
Heath McKenzie’s cartoon style drawings appear on most pages. With their exaggerated depiction of Timmy’s facial expressions – from horror at hearing bad news about his impending lengthy medical treatment, to feelings of awkwardness about the huge support boot – they add to the book’s humour and tone of playfulness. The drawings also further develop the book’s characters.
Being in bridging novel format with only a few sentences per page, this book is ideal for Year 2-4 readers who are beginning to read independently. With content relevant to a wide age range, it could also be a draw card for older reluctant readers who are soccer fans.
Reviewed by Barbara Swartz
- Read reviews of other books in the Tiny Timmy series, #1 Soccer Superstar, #2 Tiny Timmy Makes the Grade, #3 Living the Dream, #4 Kids’ World Cup and #5 On Tour!
