Diary of a . . . star series by Shamini Flint

Ill. by Sally Heinrich. Allen and Unwin, 2012.
Diary of a Soccer Star. ISBN 978-1-74237-825-1
Diary of a Cricket God. ISBN 978-1-74237-826-8
(Age: 7-10) 9 year Marcus Atkinson writes the diaries and he is being very sarcastic with the titles. According to Marcus, he is not a sporting hero but a sporting disaster with no understanding of any of the rules or skills of the game. Marcus is spurred on by his father to try different sports. Indifferent to any objections that Marcus makes, he encourages him with motivating sayings such as 'seize the moment' or 'you are what you believe son'.
Marcus records each sporting disaster in his diary and there are simple illustrations on every page. Many of the misunderstandings are a play on words, such as 'duck' in cricket having Marcus imagining the bird.
Marcus does have some shining moments though and manages to succeed in the end.
This is light hearted fun and an easy read for 7 to 10 year olds. Children who have enjoyed The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and books by Jeff Kinney will be attracted to this series. The diary format seems to be very popular at the moment and I feel there will be many more titles to come. The appealing cover will also help this series be easily recognised by young readers.
Jane Moore