Kate and Joel Temple are fantastic writers of books for younger children. They are the authors of, as they describe it, silly books for kids; some of them long, some of them short, some of them rhyming and others that don’t. They even have a book that’s an ode to that most fantastic of Australian birds. Of course it’s called Bin Chicken, so you know good people all round! The third in Kate and Jol’s Yours Trooly Alice Toolie series is The Battle of Book Week. In the Battle of Book Week Alice Toolie has secured the coveted title of library monitor and has some ingenious ideas for making it a spectacular event. But Jimmy simply won’t let her trample all over his borrowing rights and runs against her for library monitor status. Who will prevail and will it steal the thunder of the not particularly famous authors coming to visit the school?! The Alice Toolie series are epistolary novels paying homage to passing notes in class… is what I would say if I was a far too serious book reviewer type who cannot fathom being young. Alice and Jimmy write notes, scribble in books and generally cause havoc in the name of being the best in their primary school. These books are infused with a genuine love of books and reading. Alice and Jimmy are fighting with each other over borrowing books and how much (and how fast) they can read them. If you were a parent worried that your child was highly susceptible to taking on pop-culture tropes then give them this series and let them go to town! The novels are knowing and smart, while still being frenetic and fun. Kate and Jol know how to make fun of everything (including themselves) and that opens up a world of imagination all within the suburban classroom. We may not be getting dressed up in the same way for book parades (although as a side note Book Week is still on, it’s postponed to October) that may mean a little more spare time to read together and share books with the younger readers in your life!