Rhys Darby, The Top Secret Undercover Notes of Buttons McGinty, Scholastic Australia, October 2018, 192 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781775434979
The Top Secret Undercover Notes of Buttons McGinty is silly, ridiculous and nonsensical…and I think kids are going to find it irresistible.
In a similar style to the books by David Walliams, and co-written by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton, it is presented using multiple typefaces and illustrated with numerous maps, lists, and drawings, as if written by the hand of our 12 year old hero and narrator.
Buttons McGinty loves Morse Code, has parents who go on adventures and are now missing, and is about to be sent to a mysterious school located on an island that is built like a fortress.
This book has it all: secret codes to be decoded by the reader; boats and submarines manned by sinister black-clad characters; mysterious goings-on in the night; boarding-school bullies; secret passages and evil school principals!
Rhys Darby obviously loves puns as there are puns galore throughout the book. Some, I feel, will be beyond the comprehension of his intended audience, for example, ‘”Oh, and that sound was just me making some silly noises. I have irritable vowel syndrome…” said Nigel.”’ I’m not sure too many primary school aged readers would be familiar with the term ‘irritable bowel syndrome’! Also, a reference to The Fonz, a character from the TV show Happy Days, which was aired in the 1970s, would mean nothing to his readers (but maybe that’s for the parents?).
But these are small quibbles that don’t detract from the overall fun and giggles that this book offers.
Rhys Darby is a New Zealand actor and comedian, and this is his first foray into the children’s book writing world. I think he is still finding his feet in regard to pitching his story at an appropriate level for his intended young audience, but I’m hoping by his next book he will have found his voice.
The novel finishes on an absolute cliffhanger, which is a bit disappointing. It would have been much better if a satisfactory conclusion was reached in this book, with a promise of more to come in the next. I always feel a bit manipulated by this sort of ending, as if the author doesn’t trust the reader to return to the series of their own volition.
The publisher recommends the book for readers 8 years and over.
The Top Secret Undercover Notes of Buttons McGinty will particularly appeal to primary school aged children who think they don’t like reading, or who find a full page of typed text daunting.
Reviewed by Gaby Meares
