Tristan Bancks (text), Gus Gordan (illus), My Life and Other Exploding Chickens (My Life #4), Random House Australia, 1 March 2016, 208pp., $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780857985316
This is Tom Weekly’s fourth book of stories about his funny, strange and sometimes unfortunate life, where the reader can learn valuable lessons such as how to avoid being lynched by ninja librarians and finding out just where all those odd socks go. There are stories about nits, a terrifying trip to a budget dentist and an invitation to Tom’s worst nightmare….a visit to the circus, which almost costs him his life. There are funny lists outlining just how fat Tom’s cat is, (he’s got his own postcode) and 25 top reasons why he can’t wait to be in a nursing home. Tom’s mind operates on high speed, creating whirlpools of fun but also chaos and if only Tom can find a way to stop Stella Holling from kissing him, then he may just make it through his childhood, but there’s no real guarantee of that.
Illustrator extraordinaire, Gus Gordon, doesn’t just illustrate the stories, he creates small tales scribbled into the margins that add so much more to laugh at and ponder. This is a book that’s funny, fast and a times a wee bit dangerous…especially with those ninja librarians on the loose.
Reviewed by Deborah Abela