Diary of a tennis prodigy by Shamini Flint

Ill. by Sally Heinrich. Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781760290887
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Sports, Humour, Tennis. The ninth in the series of book by this author and illustrator, the diary format suits the story well, with its emphasis on action and doing things rather than pages of text explaining what is happening. For boys particularly the format is a winner, allowing the more reluctant to easily read the book, engaging in its sports focus and short snappy dialogue accompanied by a plethora of funny illustrations.
Nine year old Marcus has a huge problem, his father refuses to believe he is not a sports prodigy. The previous eight books saw Marcus being trained at a variety of other sports all with hilarious results, but the same outcome: he is just no good. but his determined father wants him now to try out a tennis, and we see the poor lad being coached by a McEnroe look alike coach still stuck in the eighties, trying to teach a boy who has not coordination at all, and all he wants to do is sit in front of his computer games.
The basics of tennis and its rules are given, as Marcus is prepared for his first big match with Tennis the Menace.
A fun filled easy read which will please all comers, but particularly boys who are a little averse to reading.
Fran Knight