Olive of Groves and the great slurp of time by Katrina Nannestad

Harper Collins Children's Books; ABC Books, 2016. ISBN 9780733333705
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Olive is the only semi-sane character attending Mrs Groves' Boarding School for Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus Performers. This is the second book in the series, and yet again her voice of reason and her kindness come to the fore in the midst of the crazy and bizarre happenings that follow when a time traveller lands in the midst of the usual 'madness' of the unusual school life, and inadvertently creates a 'time slurp' that sucks all logic from this funny story.
Children from aged 8-12 will enjoy the bizarre exploits of rats, moose, goose, acrobats and a plethora of other strange characters that have gross, explosive and disgusting habits. A former student returns to add difficulty to school life and Mrs Groves also proves herself to be the literary world's most inane and peculiar school 'leader' who is unable to recognise a lie if it fell on top of her and crushed every bone in her body! The rules for time travel are also challenging, and nearly result in a terrible disaster. Nannestad writes in a way that is disarmingly quaint and endearing, with charming asides that allow her own humour and understanding of what can tickle the funny bone of young readers to sparkle lightly through the story.
Recommended.
Carolyn Hull