What do you think?
Rate this book
Sweaty and Pals
Anyone who likes Mac Black's "Please call me Derek" (and the rest in the series covering his grown-up adventures) will enjoy introducing younger friends and family to his new series, "Sweaty and Pals." Derek hated his nickname and now we find out how he came by it. Filled with stories about Derek's exploits with his gang in the eighties, with quirky illustrations (by Mac Black), the stories build on Derek's ability to find disasters and get himself into one mess after another.
Sweaty's tales are about little kids enjoying life, before smartphones and computer games came along. Of course, it is just possible - if you are older than five - that you did all these things yourself...
Mac has embraced writing for younger readers with the same quirky clean humour that permeates his YA series. From Sweaty's first day at school, we meet some of the wonderful characters who pepper the adult books, subtly dealing with issues around prejudice, being different, living with the elderly, losing parents - but in a gentle, no-nonsense way that exposes the social discrimination and values that we took for granted, in those days, but we would not accept, today. This makes these stories a perfect springboard for class discussions about daily life for children thirty years ago compared with now.
Sweaty's tales are about little kids enjoying life, before smartphones and computer games came along. Of course, it is just possible - if you are older than five - that you did all these things yourself...
Mac has embraced writing for younger readers with the same quirky clean humour that permeates his YA series. From Sweaty's first day at school, we meet some of the wonderful characters who pepper the adult books, subtly dealing with issues around prejudice, being different, living with the elderly, losing parents - but in a gentle, no-nonsense way that exposes the social discrimination and values that we took for granted, in those days, but we would not accept, today. This makes these stories a perfect springboard for class discussions about daily life for children thirty years ago compared with now.
156 pages, Paperback
Published July 5, 2017
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 24, 2017
Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
‘Sweaty and Pals’, is the prequel to a series of books by Mac Black called ‘Derek’. The main character in those books, as you would of already guessed, is called Derek, nicknamed Sweaty by his friends, but not for the reason you may think.
The story is about how Derek came to be called Sweaty and about his time as a youngster (well younger than the series), and is set in the 1980’s, a time before gaming machines, smartphones and home computers. If you wanted to have fun then you had to make it yourself.
Each chapter is dedicated to an event that occurred in Derek’s life; most are quite short too. The illustrations that are throughout the book are creatively drawn and bold in colour, aiding to the imagination of kids whilst they read.
The book is told in the first person by Derek and reads quite like a biography, come story. Part of me did wonder whether Mac Black was writing about his own childhood, especially as I can personally remember the 80’s, though not as much as the 90’s, and his descriptions of events were bang on for that era.
Whilst the book is a great addition to the series and those that have read the series, or are reading it, will love this book, I personally found that it dragged on a bit, and I know it’s for children, but I didn’t take to Sweaty (Derek), which made it quite hard to read. I also passed it on to my 12 year old son, who, after 3/4 chapters gave up.
It is an interesting read and hopefully children will enjoy discovering about how life used to be and how privileged they now are. Also, I hope it gives them some ideas for having fun, without electronics.
‘Sweaty and Pals’, is the prequel to a series of books by Mac Black called ‘Derek’. The main character in those books, as you would of already guessed, is called Derek, nicknamed Sweaty by his friends, but not for the reason you may think.
The story is about how Derek came to be called Sweaty and about his time as a youngster (well younger than the series), and is set in the 1980’s, a time before gaming machines, smartphones and home computers. If you wanted to have fun then you had to make it yourself.
Each chapter is dedicated to an event that occurred in Derek’s life; most are quite short too. The illustrations that are throughout the book are creatively drawn and bold in colour, aiding to the imagination of kids whilst they read.
The book is told in the first person by Derek and reads quite like a biography, come story. Part of me did wonder whether Mac Black was writing about his own childhood, especially as I can personally remember the 80’s, though not as much as the 90’s, and his descriptions of events were bang on for that era.
Whilst the book is a great addition to the series and those that have read the series, or are reading it, will love this book, I personally found that it dragged on a bit, and I know it’s for children, but I didn’t take to Sweaty (Derek), which made it quite hard to read. I also passed it on to my 12 year old son, who, after 3/4 chapters gave up.
It is an interesting read and hopefully children will enjoy discovering about how life used to be and how privileged they now are. Also, I hope it gives them some ideas for having fun, without electronics.
August 22, 2017
Sweaty and Pals is a good fun read for children of around seven years and upwards to read for themselves, or for parents to read to younger school starters. The illustrations are bright, funny and add more depth to the already interesting and amusing stories. The chapters are set out at just the right length to read one at bedtime and each are a complete short story.
Derek 'Sweaty' Toozlethwaite doesn't live with his mum and dad, he lives with his grandparents. We don't get to know why in this children's book, you will need to read the later adult series to learn why and who his parents are. In the first few chapters, we meet Sweaty's 'gang' or playmates, and we learn how Derek got his nickname 'Sweaty' – and it's not because he's sweaty or smelly. We see Sweaty having a few new experiences – starting school, going to the opticians and going with his friend to the hairdressers – all showing young children in a fun way that these are normal and exciting things to do. There are chapters with morals, but not in an obvious way, and chapters of reasoning, like why you need to go to bed, even if you don't feel sleepy. But most of all, the chapters are fun filled and will be loved by young children.
Derek 'Sweaty' Toozlethwaite doesn't live with his mum and dad, he lives with his grandparents. We don't get to know why in this children's book, you will need to read the later adult series to learn why and who his parents are. In the first few chapters, we meet Sweaty's 'gang' or playmates, and we learn how Derek got his nickname 'Sweaty' – and it's not because he's sweaty or smelly. We see Sweaty having a few new experiences – starting school, going to the opticians and going with his friend to the hairdressers – all showing young children in a fun way that these are normal and exciting things to do. There are chapters with morals, but not in an obvious way, and chapters of reasoning, like why you need to go to bed, even if you don't feel sleepy. But most of all, the chapters are fun filled and will be loved by young children.
September 17, 2017
Mac Black has already published a series of books for young adults about Derek Toozlethwaite (what an awesome name!), and Sweaty and Pals is the prequel to the series; aimed at children aged around eight to eleven years old.
Derek's nickname in the series is Sweaty and Mac Black decided to explain to his readers how that nickname came about. In Sweaty and Pals the reader learns all about Derek and his pals; Wee Spotty, Wally, Tomtom, Jacko and Curly, and how each of them came about their nicknames.
Sweaty and Pals is a fun and interesting read. Young readers will love this as each chapter is a story in itself, and it's really easy to pick up, read a couple of chapters and then set aside until the next day. The 1980s setting will be familiar to older readers, and intriguing to those aged under ten. This book is about boys having fun, using their imagination and not relying on electronic gadgets, or checking their phones every few minutes. There's no live streaming of mischief here, or photographs of everything that happened, this is good old-fashioned fun and games.
The writing is engaging and the characters are recognisable, and lovable. Mac Black himself has illustrated the book beautifully with colour pictures that bring the story to life.
Recommended for kids, and big kids alike!
https://randomthingsthroughmyletterbo...
Derek's nickname in the series is Sweaty and Mac Black decided to explain to his readers how that nickname came about. In Sweaty and Pals the reader learns all about Derek and his pals; Wee Spotty, Wally, Tomtom, Jacko and Curly, and how each of them came about their nicknames.
Sweaty and Pals is a fun and interesting read. Young readers will love this as each chapter is a story in itself, and it's really easy to pick up, read a couple of chapters and then set aside until the next day. The 1980s setting will be familiar to older readers, and intriguing to those aged under ten. This book is about boys having fun, using their imagination and not relying on electronic gadgets, or checking their phones every few minutes. There's no live streaming of mischief here, or photographs of everything that happened, this is good old-fashioned fun and games.
The writing is engaging and the characters are recognisable, and lovable. Mac Black himself has illustrated the book beautifully with colour pictures that bring the story to life.
Recommended for kids, and big kids alike!
https://randomthingsthroughmyletterbo...
October 25, 2018
This is an interesting and fun look at the life of Derek and his friends before they became adults. It turns out, that even as a child, 'Sweaty' had a singular talent at finding himself in the oddest and sometimes most hilarious situations. The illustrations in this book go a long way toward keeping kids interested in the characters and the story itself is fun to read, broken down by chapter into different adventures.
My thirteen and fourteen year old kids liked this just as well as my eight year old twins. This book is one of those kinds of stories where you never know quite what to expect next, but you somehow know that it will be cringeworthy. Remember that story your grandparents used to tell you about having to walk to school, uphill, both ways in the snow. Yep, you will get something like that here for the younger generation to enjoy.
This was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to reading the next two.
My thirteen and fourteen year old kids liked this just as well as my eight year old twins. This book is one of those kinds of stories where you never know quite what to expect next, but you somehow know that it will be cringeworthy. Remember that story your grandparents used to tell you about having to walk to school, uphill, both ways in the snow. Yep, you will get something like that here for the younger generation to enjoy.
This was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to reading the next two.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews