Freddy Tangles: Legend or Loser

by Jack Brand

What would you rather do, tell Sid he smells or tell Principal Brody he smells?. That's easy. I would tell Mr Brody. No one is scarier than the bully Sid Malone, and now he's coming to get Freddy. Luckily, Freddy's got a plan. Laser beam eyes. If he stares at a white wall for long enough and wants it bad enough, his eyes will start to shoot laser beams. On second thoughts, he might need a back-up plan! Freddy's friends are in danger too. But what can Freddy do when he's even afraid of his little sister? (Well to be fair, she is totally evil!) He has to find a way to rescue them all from Sid. Only one thing is for sure - it's going to hurt.

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Fiona Mackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freddy Tangles legend or loser is the first book in a new series from Jack Brand and it is great! It did take a few pages to get used to the writing style as it does run on, with the day that Freddy begins telling you about taking the first 45 pages! However, once you get used to this, you quickly become engrossed in the plot. Freddy has an unfortunate name, which has lead to him being teased by everyone. He's caught up in a local gang because he's too scared to say no, but when he's expected to fight another, smaller and younger, kid as an initiation, he manages to escape without fighting. This means Sid and the gang are after him, and Freddy is petrified.
The theme of bullying and exclusion is handled really well, with a satisfactory and realistic conclusion. The 9 year old son has started it and is enjoying it, and I'm looking forward to the second book. I love Tom Jellett's illustrations too, which punctuate the text expressively. Many thanks to Allen and Unwin for the review copies - I think you've got a winner here and I highly recommend it for primary schools. I have a few Y7-8 students who will enjoy Freddy's predicament too.

[Sydney James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. I read it to my 5 year old son and he loved the story but particularly the ants and I agree. The ants comment on the story from their own ant perspective, and they are hilarious. The story itself has some real life issues about bullying and yet somehow the author has taken a quite serious situation, kept it real, and yet added bucket loads of humor through crazy characters, imagination and funny events. I hope the next one is just as compelling and funny.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read once you get use to the run on style.