Thirteen Unpredictable Tales [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Paul Jennings (Author), Steven Pacey (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2001

Chivers offers the most extensive unabridged audio program for young readers. All titles are complete and unabridged, and feature full-color covers. These books are perfect readalongs and companions for long trips and rainy days!

The passionate ice-maiden. A world stuck on fast-forward. The see-through boy... Here is an exciting collection of thirteen of his best, most unpredictable stories -- from the one and only Paul Jennings.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grades 4-7--This entertaining compilation collects 13 of Paul Jennings' imaginative, twisty tales, packed with Australian slang. He effectively captures the pain of adolescent angst, but then adds a surrealistic layer that makes each story intriguing. Many of the yarns revolve around outsiders trying to outwit bullies. Cosmic forces come to their aid, but with mixed results. In the gross yet darkly funny "Spaghetti Pig-Out," the hero hopes to befriend a merciless thug by showing him an unearthly remote control device that makes people and animals rewind, fast forward, and pause. Things do not go as planned, and the results are both hilarious and disgusting. In the delightful "Wunderpants," Jennings tells of a pair of "fairy pants" that transforms a weakling into a racing machine who can out-race the local villain. In "There's No Such Thing," the bully is a nasty nurse who heckles a boy and his hospitalized grandfather. This story offers the collection's most satisfying surprise ending and a wonderfully creepy scene inside a dragon's lair. Other tales show the awkwardness of kids experiencing infatuation: a boy finds himself frozen to a beautiful ice statue after kissing "The Ice Maiden"; a lad freaks when he sees his clone kissing his girl in "The Copy"; and a young man punishes himself (in a very bizarre way) for the death of his beloved's bird in "Only Gilt." The best stories in the collection show what a gifted storyteller Jennings is. His use of a narrator speaking in the second person adds urgency to the mind-reading fantasy "Thoughtful." Jennings creates a vivid seaside atmosphere in the surprisingly haunting "Nails." "Clear as Mud" is a clever (and at times gross) look at the effects of a beetle bite on a boy's body. Even the more slight stories ("Pink Bow Tie," "Exposers," "The Strap Box Flyer") move fast and crackle with a sense of fun. Narrator Steven Pacey does an excellent job conveying the tone, humor, and weirdness of each story. One quibble: the packaging does not provide a table of contents listing the stories included on the tape. Kids will enjoy these tales and may even be inspired to write their own.

Brian E. Wilson, Evanston Public Library, IL

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Paul Jennings was born in Australia and still lives there. He is one of Australia's most successful and well-known children's writers. Paul is particularly concerned with making reading interesting and fun for children instead of a chore. He also works as a lecturer in Teacher and Adult Education. He has won many Australian awards - in 1992 he won an award in every children's choice list in Australia. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754052362
• ISBN-13: 978-0754052364
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 5.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,413,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unpredictable Titles to Tease, December 12, 2001

By 

Wendreams "Wen" (Greensboro, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thirteen Unpredictable Tales (Galaxy Children's Large Print Books) (Paperback)

I was introduced to this book by a visiting British teacher. She shared it with my fifth grade class. I began reading the tales to my students and I was hooked! The stories are entertaining and perplexing. The endings surprise adults as well as children. After reading part of "There's No Such Thing" to the class, they created their own endings to the story. Their work was the best writing they had created all year!