Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Reading Time
    • Home
    • Reviews
      • Highly Recommended
      • CBCA Short Listed
      • Early Childhood Books
      • Younger Readers
      • Intermediate Readers
      • Older Readers
      • Great Read Alouds
      • Information Books
      • Picture Books
      • Professional Development
    • Interviews
    • Suggestions
    • News
    • Meet The Review Team
    • Contact Us
    Reading Time
    You are at:Home»Reviews»The Nerd Herd

    The Nerd Herd

    0
    By Admin on July 4, 2021 Reviews, Younger Readers

    Nathan Luff (text) and Chris Kennett (illustrator), The Nerd Herd (Nerd Herd #1), Scholastic, February 2021, 144 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760971069

    The Nerd Herd is the first book in a new illustrated bridging novel series about farmyard cartoon characters.  From the outset, the book feels like a romp of fun and silliness, as characters with amusing names are introduced – there are the friends Baarnabus (a lamb, who prefers to be called Barny), Shaama Llama Ding Dong and Billy the Kid (an angora goat) who are bullied by Ringo, (the farm dog), Plus-sized Puss (the farm cat), Kevin Bacon (a huge pig) and other nasty farmyard characters too. The storyline is told in the first person by Barny who hatches optimistic, yet ill-conceived, plans for the friends to form a gang and protect themselves from the bullying. 

    The cartoon drawings and the storyline itself are filled with funny absurdities and slapstick scenarios – with a measure of grossness thrown in – to keep the kids chuckling along.  There is also plenty of subtle humour, with Barny having a fondness for puns – – I love his retort to the llama – “no prob-llama” and his reference to a sleeping bull as a “bull-dozer”. Barny’s many ironic references are funny and clever too.  I also enjoyed how the characters’ behaviours relate to their real animal counterparts, such as the chickens who flap around and talk over the top of each other and the goat whose fringe is constantly falling in his eyes.

    This book is lots of fun. From the line drawing cartoon style illustrations which exude energy and playfulness and expertly portray the characters and the story action, to the banter of the dialogue, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

    I recommend The Nerd Herd for newly independent readers or as a shared reading between adults and kids aged 6-9 years.

    Reviewed by Barbara Swartz

    adventure Australian author Australian illustrator Beginner Readers Bullying Farm animals friendship humour

    Related Posts

    Battlefield

    The Calling of Jackdaw Hollow

    The Bush Birds

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • Themes
    • Curriculum
    Action adventure Airplanes Alphabet Anxiety autism Bullying CBCA Awards Coming of age Dystopian emotions family fantasy friendship grief Historical humour magic Mystery Post apocalyptic Readers Cup reluctant readers school Sci-Fi series of books siblings Sport Starting school Teacher Notes
    ANZAC Australian animals Australian history Biography Culture & Diversity Disabilities First Nations Geography health Humanities mental health Poetry Reconciliation resilience Science STEM Stolen Generation sustainability Wordless books



    Recent Comments
    • Barbara on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    Recent Posts
    • Battlefield
    • The Calling of Jackdaw Hollow
    • The Bush Birds
    • Star of Anise
    • Spotlight Please…It’s Stevie Louise
    Recent Comments
    • Barbara on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    © Copyright 2021 The Children’s Book Council of Australia - All rights reserved

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.