Author: Joy Cowley
Illustrator: Trevor Pye
Publisher: Harper Collins, $12.95
Age Group: 8-12 years
'Who needs to go to the toilet?' said Mr Fromish.
Everybody laughed. Royce went red under his freckles and put his hand over his drawing, but Mr Fromish had moved on to my desk.
'Another interesting design,' he said. 'A house shaped
like the letter C.'
I quickly explained. 'It's actually two houses, Mr Fromish, one for my parents and one for me, with a long hallway in between.'
'That's nice,' said Mr Fromish. 'So, even on wet days, your mother will be able to look after you.'
I started to nod, but all the kids burst out laughing and I realised that old Fromish was being sarcastic. Roger Bennet from the other side of the room called, 'Mummy's little boy!' and the laughing got louder. I felt my face glow like a neon sign.
'Choice!' yelled Royce. 'Mickey's mother's an absolutely awesome cook. Way better than any restaurant.'
With that, the noise got huge, everyone switching to talk about mothers and food and Mr Fromish completely lost it.
The more he called for order, the louder grew the yelling.
To buy the book online from FlyingPig:
The Wild Wests and Pong Castle
