Mr Mac is a teacher. He is a teacher who gets kids. He is a teacher who gets kids to read. That’s pretty much the most important thing that any teacher of young people can hope for. The story behind his success is really quite remarkable.
He’s found the trick to get even the most reluctant readers enjoying books - sometimes for the first time in their reading lives. He uses humour.
Arguably this is boy humour with fart jokes, burps that lead to new dimensions, and disgusting concoctions driving much of the humour, and that won’t be everyone’s desire. But for young boys who are getting started with reading, or looking to find something just a little bit naughty and silly, you can go no further.
Most interesting, it is the students of his class that helped him edit it. All the ‘boring bits’ were cut out. All the jokes were ‘made funnier’ and characters were added to really bring out the best in the story. That, alone, is tremendous teaching with the editing process made really clear for young writers and young readers.
Mr Mac noticed a massive gap in the market for young Kiwi boys. A need to bring out heroes that are everyday people, weirdos and put them in situations that create humorous outcomes. The successful launch of the first book The Super Weirdos and the Battle of the Bash did just what he wanted it to do. In this new book from Mr Mac The Super Weirdos and the Royal Roodle Rumble, the main characters are back and up to their usual antics and must work to save the world…again.
Norm (the human in the mix) is ten, and it is through him that we once more head into the world of the super weirdos - through the means of giant burps.
The little illustrations along the way are brilliant and add so much to the overall impression of the story’s progression. When reading aloud to children it is often the images that bring the most laughs and the most joy - move over Quentin Blake!
Overall, the story is silly enough to be hilarious, strong enough to be engaging, and funny enough that it takes longer than expected to get through because of the laughter.
Take a bow, Mr Mac. You’ve done more for reading with these two books than a lot of well meaning bureaucrats achieve in a lifetime!
Reviewer: Chris Reed
Mr Mac’s Books