War with Old Mouldy

Jody Walker. scourge of St Christopher's, and her battle of wills with Old Mouldy. Mr Moulder-Brown to his colleagues, works as a riveting read-alone and a terrific read-aloud - lots of opportunity for different voices and plenty of s-s-s-stuttering. A pity about the smattering of non-standard spelling which makes it a near miss for the older, less able reader for whom this kind of school mahem is tantalising bait. Jody, ten and three-quarters and pretty tough, shows herself wonderfully vulnerable to the spectacular stories of dastardly torture and suffering that Old Mouldy threatens to inflict upon her and her friends. Believing everything and questioning nothing, she goes on to plot and scheme revenge. Among the shambles of best friend Vinegar's chicken-pox and the purple rash-ridden ears of Christopher, the squit from Class 2, there ensues a secret society with all the codes and secret signs you could wish for and the most malevolent of aims, to rid St Christopher's of Old Mouldy for ever. All the tried and true elements of slapstick; confusion, misunderstanding. earthworms, kippers, foaming tablets and glue, all making for compulsive and hilarious reading.