Young Kiwi book
reviewer Sam
Nicholl (11) and
mum EmmaSAILING STORIES
Young readers write...
What do today’s young readers think? I
interviewed and consulted with young
sailors of a small yacht club in New
Zealand and have compiled a highly
unscientifi c survey of theirs and my
favourite nautical reads.Those Kids – a
series by Jon
Tucker
These uplifting tales
of youthful naivety,
camaraderie,
calamity and triumph
will appeal to any
free-spirited reader
who loves historical
and geographical
details, but also gets engrossed in
fast-paced boating adventures. The
stories of Jake, Finn and Jess are based
on true events and real places, but are
essentially works of fi ction.
At least two in this series of four books
are inspired by Arthur Ransome’s
Swallows and Amazons books – the
covers even imitate the famous editions
by publishers Jonathan Cape and Red
Fox (1937 and 2013) by capturing the
same ‘holiday scrapbook’ feel. Originally
conceived as a feeder series to
Ransome’s 12-book series, Tucker’s four
books stand alone (although are linked)
and follow the lives of two fi ctional sailing
families (Australian and Kiwi) over the
course of two years. The reader learns by
osmosis, not just sailing skills but also life
skills, such as working with electricity,
basic plumbing, tides and moons,
collecting rainwater and so on.
One young reader I spoke to says, “I
love the way the story focuses on
environmental issues, like plastic rubbish
in the oceans. These issues are real for us
and these books inspire me to be part of
the solution.”
What I particularly liked about Tucker’s
books is the limited chapter lengths of
around 2,300 words, which takes about
20 minutes to read, versus the older
classic children’s books, which generally
exceeded 4,000 words per chapter. For
children with reading limitations, this
makes the books so much more
manageable and hence likeable.Sam Nicholl, 11, said his favourite in the
series was Those Shipwreck Kids: “It’s set
in the Marlborough Sounds [New
Zealand], an area I know and I can relate
to it easily.”
When I asked him what he particularly
loved about these books he said, “They’re
entertaining and all sorts of mysteries pop
up, like when they struck a rock and got a
hole in the boat and had to fi x it. The
characters are adventurous and brave. If
things go wrong they just get on with it,
and don’t stress.”
So what’s to improve? “Seriously hard to
improve,” he says. “I love these books
and just want more of them!”Prove It, Josh by
Jenny Watson
My son Ben, aged
10, loved this book
about a Canadian
boy named Josh
who struggles with
reading but loves
sailing. He makes a
bet with a mean
classmate that he
will win an upcoming sailing race.
With plenty of strong female characters,
(Josh’s race buddy, Dacota, is a girl), this
novel also seeks to portray the importance
of helping others; on the day of the race,
for instance, Josh and Dacota choosing to
save another group of competitors instead
of winning.
“I like that it has the theme of sailing,"
says Ben. "And also that Josh has a
learning diffi culty that the author makes
very obvious. I think that gives him some
determination to try to win the race. I also
like that Josh spent a lot of time in his boat
practising, because I can relate to that
with my Optimist sailing.”
Ben goes on to say that the story is very
believable, that it easily could have
happened and was accurate to real life.
This certainly emerges as a theme for
Jack Bao me as well, along with overcoming.
.
.