Kev and Trev: Snot Scary Jungle Stories by Kylie Howarth, Affirm Press, ISBN 9781923022164
REVIEWED BY JOHN, 7, WA
The publisher provided a review copy of this title.
Kev and Trev: Snot Scary Jungle Stories is a graphic novel, the second Kev and Trev book. I liked this book even more than the first book because it is even funnier. This surprised me because I really liked the first Kev and Trev book!
Kev and Trev are on a jungle adventure to find pugorillas and other jungle animals and it is hilarious. There are so many funny moments and jokes.
The illustrations are really funny, I loved the jaguar, and I really liked the front cover, the sparkles are really cool and it looks really exciting and the book was really exciting too.
All ages would enjoy this book because young kids can look at the pictures and older kids will love the jokes!
This is John’s first book review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines. Happy reading!
Dragon Girls: Zoe the Beach Dragon by Maddy Mara, Scholastic Inc, ISBN 9781760265151
REVIEWED BY SCOUT, 8, QLD
Scout reviewed her own copy of this title.
Zoe the Beach Dragon by Maddy Mara is part of the ‘Dragon Girls’ series. I love that there are lots of animals like turtles and seals and lots more in this series.
In this book Zoe and her friends, Grace and Sofia, have to stop the Firesparks and their leader, the Fire Queen, from making the water disappear. They also need to save the ocean leaders like the turtle leader and the dolphin leader.
I think kids who like dragons and are aged 8, 9 and 10 would maybe like this book. I would give this book 10/10 stars.
This is Scout’s first book review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines. Happy reading!
Jeanette Stampone grew up in England in a spooky 300-year-old house surrounded by stories of local legends, ghosts, fairies, and pixies. Jeanette now calls Western Australia home. She is the author of two picture books and the Junior Fiction Ghost Detectives series, illustrated by Jasmine Berry. Today we’re chatting to Jeanette about book one in the series: Terry Fide and the Bakery Ghost.
From the publisher:
Nine-year-old Terry Fide dreams of being the next great ghost detective like his dad. But there’s one problem: Terry is terrified of anything remotely scary (except his ghost dog, Bones). When his dad is called to work in Sydney, Terry is left to deal with a spook causing havoc at the bakery.
How did you come to write about a ghost haunting a bakery?
I was born in England and lived in a three-hundred-year-old house. It was always very spooky and I spent quite a lot of time hiding under my covers! So, that’s where the ghost part came from. As for the bakery, well my parents owned a bakery, and when I turned 15, I worked there, too. So, I pretty much grew up in a bakery environment, and was always spoiled with yummy treats. When I was trying to think of an idea for the book, I decided it would be fun to combine these two elements and create a bakery ghost.
Terry Fide is a punny name for your main character and his name also tells us about his personality! Have you ever found yourself having to do something that you found terrifying?
I did a solo parachute jump! If that’s not terrifying enough, my walkie-talkie failed so I couldn’t hear the instructors as they tried to guide me down. Thankfully, I managed to get myself down safely. I have to say, it was an amazing experience.
What’s your go-to order when you visit a bakery?
Can I only choose one? I don’t think that’s possible, so I am picking a few! For sweets, I love carrot cake and caramel slice. For savoury, I won’t say no to a pasty or spinach & ricotta roll. Yum!
Do you have a tip for young writers who want to write their own novels?
Take lots of time to get to know your characters. Imagine you are interviewing them and ask about their lives, what they do for fun, their likes and dislikes. Imagine how they would respond to you. Would they roll their eyes? Would they get distracted? Would they speak fast or slow? Doing this will really help you to understand them and build a strong character. And from there, you can start to figure out story ideas. You’ll be surprised how many ideas start flowing after you’ve ‘interviewed’ your character!
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
I am always working on picture book ideas. I also love to draw so I am hoping to become an author-illustrator one day. So, lots of doodling and playing on my favourite drawing app, Procreate.
Terry Fide and the Bakery Ghost is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
AWESOME EXTRAS:
If you live in Western Australia, you can book a private 10-minute story time experience with Jeanette on the Story Wheel as part of the Totally Lit Festival in Fremantle! (October 10, 2025) Info and bookings via the Totally Lit website.
Kristy Nita Brown is a Western Australian author writing junior fiction books and delivering creative writing, independent publishing and film making workshops at libraries and schools. Today we’re pleased to be chatting to Kristy about the second book in her Mavey and Beth’s Double Act series: The Hole Truth, illustrated by Alison Mutton.
The author provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of The Hole Truth.
Almost everyone in Year Three is rocking earrings. Shiny gold stars, diamond studs, dangly rainbows, buzzy bees. Everyone except Mavey, that is. With her twin sister Beth and her best friend Woody by her side, Mavey’s facing a big decision. Fit in? Stand out? Studs or no studs? Can Mavey figure it out before the whole school finds out the hole truth?
This is Book 2 in your junior fiction series. Have you planned out the series in advance or do you just focus on the book you’re currently working on?
When I first came up with the idea for Mavey and Beth, I only had one book in mind. But once I finished it, I realised it could work as a series, with the girls taking on a new challenge in each school year up to Year 4. I won’t go past Year 4, as this would push the series into middle-grade territory, and these are chapter books for early readers.
A fan recently asked me why the story is always told from Mavey’s point of view and not split with Beth over the books, since they’re twins. Mavey is shy, introverted, and thoughtful. I feel these kinds of characters are underrepresented in junior fiction. Beth is more outgoing and dramatic, the kind of character who’s already well represented. For me, Mavey is the heart of the story. She’s trying to figure out her place in the world and make sense of things other kids seem to grasp more easily, and that’s the perspective I want to explore.
Beth has her ears pierced, but her sister Mavey is nervous about getting her ears pierced. Do you have your ears pierced? How old were you when you made the decision?
The Hole Truth is inspired by my daughter and the pressure she felt from her peers in Year 3 to get her ears pierced. It’s a real issue for primary school kids and isn’t just girls, kids of all genders are getting piercings these days.
I do have my ears pierced, but I don’t remember when or how it happened. I also have my nose pierced. I did it while writing The Hole Truth to learn more about the process. The piercer explained everything to me including the process and the importance of consent. The person getting pierced is always in control, no matter their age, and can say “no” or “stop” at any time. Some of the stories of kids she’d pierced even made their way into the book!
What’s your best tip for someone who feels anxious about the pressure to do something they’re unsure about?
My best tip is to remember that it’s okay to take your time and say “no” if something doesn’t feel right. You don’t have to give in to pressure just to fit in or please others. It’s important to listen to your own feelings and boundaries. Sometimes talking it through with someone you trust, whether that’s a parent, teacher, or friend, can really help you figure out what’s best for you. And remember, you’re always in control of your choices, just like I learned from the piercer. Your choices are important, because they are yours.
Spelling homework gets a mention in the book – is spelling one of your superpowers or superchallenges?
Spelling is definitely not one of my superpowers, and I love telling kids this! So many young writers struggle with spelling, and I want them to know it doesn’t have to hold them back. Being an author doesn’t mean you have to be a perfect speller. We have editors who help fix punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Once kids realise this, they can let go of the fear and just focus on the story they want to tell. I even tell them I use voice-to-text when writing sometimes. You don’t even need a pen – just an idea! I’m living proof that you don’t have to be a perfect speller to be a storyteller. If you’ve got a good idea, there’s always a way to get it down on paper.
What’s next for Mavey and Beth?
Will there be a third Mavey and Beth book? In my mind, yes … I think there will be! It will be set in Year 4, and I’m thinking it might be about skateboarding … but I’m open to suggestions. If anyone has ideas for the next book, I’d love to hear them. Feel free to email me! That said, my writing time is limited because I also run the Book Builders Challenge in schools, which takes up a lot of my year. So, the plan is for a third book, but I’ll see how it all fits together!
The Hole Story is out now! See the list of stockists at the author’s website.
This book centres around the main character, Lexie Moon, who builds a contraption that takes someone’s words and gives them to someone else but alas Lexi’s invention gets stolen by a technology-crazy burglar.
Lexi Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle is perfect for tween readers who want a fun and interesting book. I absolutely loved keeping up with Lexi’s antics and the plot kept me guessing till the very end. I cannot wait to join Lexie Moon on her next adventure!
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra by Cassy Polimeni, illustrated by Hykie Breeze, UWA Publishing, ISBN 9781760802899
REVIEWED BY ELLA, 9, WA
The publisher provided a review copy of this book.
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra is a fiction book with lots of facts about frogs. The story is about Ella, who moves house and finds frogs near her new home.
I really liked the author’s descriptions of all the details in the book, and all the onomatopoeia, that made me feel like I was actually there. I thought Ella was a fun and likeable main character. The illustrations were really good, I just wish they had more colour in the book.
I think that anyone aged 5-9 would enjoy this book. Anyone who likes frogs or wants to learn about frogs, would love this book.
Melissa Garside lives south of Sydney with her family, their hilarious golden retriever and some entertaining free-ranging chooks. When she’s not writing or teaching, she enjoys getting her hands dirty in the garden, immersing herself in nature and using her family as guinea pigs for her recipe-free kitchen experiments. Today we’re chatting to Melissa about her debut junior fiction novel: Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle, illustrated by Lauren Mullinder.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle.
From the publisher:
Lexie Moon built her latest invention, The Vocabuliser, to help people learn to say tricky words, like spaghetti and Worcestershire. But the device is stolen by infamous gadget thief, Gizmo Lightfinger, who sees other people’s inventions as his ticket to glory. With Grandad’s help, Lexie devises a plan to catch the gadget thief and get her invention back.
Lexie Moon is an enthusiastic inventor – did you try your hand at inventing gadgets when you were growing up?
I didn’t think of myself as an inventor as a child – although I did do a fair bit of inventing in the kitchen, coming up with many recipe-free, experimental dishes, and I’ve always played with different forms of design, including drawing fantastical house and garden plans. Dad was an electronics technician which meant that I was surrounded by a lot of gadgets, components and parts, and spent many hours in places like Sparky’s Electronics. Among my ‘toys’ were empty photographic film canisters and an egg-beater drill. I also used to imagine that the printed circuit boards Dad used were city streets and the various components were skyscrapers and vehicles.
I wanted Lexie Moon to be an inventor partly because I needed a way for the villain to steal people’s words, and also because I really love books that have things that are slightly outrageous or impossible. I think most of Lexie’s inventions are both!
Lexie is a courageous kid who isn’t afraid to race into danger. Are you like this yourself?
No way! I wish I was more like Lexie. To her, it’s more important to do the right thing than worry about being scared, and once she decides what she needs to do, almost nothing can stop her. I’d like to think that I would always do the brave thing, and there have been one or two occasions in which I’ve had to face a snake or spider, but to be honest I’m usually much more of the scream-if-I-see-a-mouse sort of person.
If Lexie’s Vocabuliser could help you pronounce a particular tricky word, which word would you choose?
Well, these days I teach English to migrants from around the world. I must say I probably find the Vietnamese pronunciation the trickiest of all, so I would quite like The Vocabuliser to help me say some tricky Vietnamese words. If we’re talking about English words, I would like some help with words I read in books but don’t know how to say properly. Words like isthmus (a narrow strip of land), interlocutor (someone you talk to) and sphygmomanometer (a blood pressure machine)! That last one really is a tongue-twister!
Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle has lots of twists as the reader hurtles through the story! Do you have a tip for young writers who would like to add some extra excitement to their storytelling?
The advice that I’ve been given is that to make your story extra exciting, you need to put your character in danger or put them in a very tricky situation. Once you’ve done that, you can make your story even more exciting, by making the danger even more dangerous or making the tricky situation even trickier.
I recommend thinking about the situation that your character is in and brainstorming all the different ways things can go wrong. Choose one or two things from that list and make them happen in your story. Then your character’s job is to find a way out of the tricky situation and get everything back to normal. That part of writing can be a lot of fun!
Can you tell us a bit about your next Work/s-in-Progress?
I’m very excited to be able to tell you that the next book in the Lexie Moon series, Lexie Moon and the Space Day Disaster, is planned for publication in August this year! I really enjoyed writing it and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.
If all goes well, I have a few ideas for other Lexie Moon titles. I’m also currently working on a portal adventure story and have lots of ideas for other books.
Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
Deb Fitzpatrick writes for adults, young adults and children. She loves using stories from real life in her novels and regularly teaches creative writing to people of all ages. Deb loves bushwalking with her family. When she can, she sneaks away to a shack in the karri forest of the south-west of Western Australia. Today we’re thrilled to be chatting to Deb about her latest book: Tawny Trouble.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Tawny Trouble.
From the publisher:
When Tessa’s family accidentally hit a Tawny Frogmouth while driving through the bush at night, they feel terrible. But the tawny is alive and needs their help. What Tessa doesn’t know is where that help will lead … Deb Fitzpatrick’s new novel is perfect for nature-loving readers who have a soft spot for animals.
How did a Tawny Frogmouth end up as the focus of your new book?
My family goes to the Nannup Music Festival every year and on the midnight drive home through the forest we always dodge Tawny Frogmouths, which feed on moths and insects attracted to the lights of cars. One year we came horribly close to hitting a tawny and it made me think: WHAT IF?? That question — what if? — is often the catalyst for my writing.
What’s your favourite Tawny Frogmouth fact?
I can’t just share one wonderful Tawny Frogmouth fact! I beg your indulgence, Alphabet Soup readers!
The most important fact we need to know about Tawny Frogmouths is that while they are nocturnal and as such are often confused for owls, they’re not owls. They’re closer to the nightjar.
Tawny Frogmouth feathers are soft, allowing for stealthy, silent flight. And their mottled grey, brown and black colouring helps them mimic tree branches — this is why Tawny Frogmouths are often referred to as the ‘masters of camouflage’.
You’re the author of many books. What do you find to be the hardest part of writing a book for you? (from the spark of the idea through to the book heading off to the printer?)
The spark of the idea is probably the easiest part for me, and the most exciting, and I think that’s true for a lot of writers. Reaching the end of a first draft is a huge relief, because for me the hardest part of writing any novel is getting through THE MIDDLE. Novel-writing is a sort of long-distance event; keeping positive, focused and confident in your abilities during that long middle phase can make or break the project. To maintain the sporting metaphor, that middle phase is about your creative stamina, your mental fitness, your willingness to go all the way. You really have to back yourself and your project, and it helps enormously to have the support of others during this time. I share my works-in-progress with another published children’s writer, and she sends me her work. We offer each other detailed editorial feedback including suggestions for improvement, observations on what’s working, and a solid dose of encouragement. I find this exchange really keeps me on track and lifts my motivation when I’m flagging.
Do you have a tip for young writers who’d also like to write adventure stories?
I would suggest incorporating a topic you’re fascinated by and want to know more about (I love native animals, for example, and love to write about them). Do some research (I had to do quite a bit to write Tawny Trouble as I didn’t know a lot about these beautiful birds) and weave a few facts into the story here and there. Before you know it, you’re engaging your readers while completely immersing yourself in research and writing — and it works because it’s something you care about.
Can you tell us a bit about what’s next for you?
I’m currently writing a novel for middle readers set on Penguin Island off the WA coast. It’s about 11-year-old Mitch, who gets caught up in an environmental adventure with the island’s Little Penguin population. Little Penguins are the only penguins that are native to Australia, and they’re the smallest of the 18 species of penguin in the world. This book is for readers who love nature and adventure, and perfect for fans of Kelpie Chaos and Tawny Trouble!
Tawny Trouble is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
Into the Blue by Cristy Burne, Fremantle Press, ISBN 9781760993870
REVIEWED BY ELIZABETH, 11, NSW
The publisher provided a review copy of this book.
For his school holiday, Blair went snorkelling at the beach with his cousin. Blair walked into the ocean slowly as he spat into his snorkelling mask. He and his cousin, Drew, slowly explored the area around them, but as he was snorkelling just above a shipwreck, he noticed something precious he had in his hand was missing. Frantically he looked around, carefully pushing the sand away from the ocean floor to find this precious thing. Will he find it, or will he never see it again?
Into the Blue by Cristy Burne is an amazing book because this shows the authentic character of Blair and what really happens when he owned up and admitted that he lost something that was not his. I like this book a lot because it shows that you should not keep a secret when you have done something wrong.
I rate this book a nine out of ten because there was a moral to the story and I appreciated how Blair tried to resolve the problem. This is an inspiring book that 7–10 year olds should read.
Into the Blue is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library, or order it online.
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