The Best Party Ever

Hey Jack! #13

by Sally Rippin, Stephanie Spartels (Illustrator)

Jack's whole class is coming to his birthday party. It's going to be awesome! But what will he do when his best friend is too sick to come?

Genres: Childrens

48 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Sally Rippin was born in Darwin, but grew up mainly in South-East Asia. As a young adult she lived in China for three years, studying traditional Chinese painting. Sally has over seventy books published, many of them award-winning, including two novels for young adults. Her most recent work includes the highly acclaimed children’s novel Angel Creek and the popular Billie B Brown books, which became the highest selling series for 6-8 year olds in Australia within the first year of their release. Sally is Australia’s highest selling female author and her Billie B Brown books have sold more than 4.5 million copies in 14 languages.
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Sally is a popular presenter in schools and at literary festivals both in Australia and overseas and has a regular program on 3RRR interviewing children’s authors and industry professionals. She is a passionate ambassador for the 100 Story Building creative writing centre for marginalized youth and has mentored many emerging writers and illustrators. Recently, she and her partner co-founded Story Peddlers, a hand-made performance tent that packs away into a custom-built bike, with the aim of bringing back the art of the roving storyteller.

Reviews

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous series for beginner readers who are on the way to coping with chapter books, but needing something bite-sized before they get there. Jack's stories have a bit of grit in them, confronting the real world of young kids' roller-coaster emotions, best friends and family situations. All done with a light but insightful touch, fantastic illustrations by Stephanie Spartels, and wrapping up a complete, satisfying story in just over 1,000 words. These books can be enjoyed by, and build confidence in, younger primary school kids.

[Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book.

[Jordyn Wallis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is super cute. It shows jealously but how was overcame by the power of friendship!

[Frankie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! My first chapter book I read all by myself. I want to read the others in the series

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack is disappointed when his best friend Billie can't come to his birthday party. At first it's just not fun for him, but once he gets swept up by everything, he completely forgets to save any cake for her. In the end he makes up for his disregard. I like how the books in this series explore real-life situations in honest fashion. This sort of stuff happens all the time, but not always with good results.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

13 - Sally Rippin, “Hey Jack! The Best Party Ever” (Richmond, Victoria, Aust: Hardie Grant Egmont, 2013).
“Billie is Jack's best friend. She lives next door. Jack squeezes through the hole in the fence into Billie's backyard.” (p5)
Billie is sick and can't come to Jack's birthday party.
“Jack knows his party won't be the same without Billie. What fun is a party without your best friend?” (p12)

[Culleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this for my 6 year old son. We read it together in one sitting. He loved it and even read most of the first 4 pages by himself (only a little assistance on the harder words). He now wants more Hey Jack! books!

[Selina Bloomfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy chapter book I read with my five year old. He really enjoyed it.