Rattled! by Michael Wagner

Maxx Rumble Cricket series. Ill. by Terry Denton. Black Dog Books, 2012. ISBN 978-1-742032-52-8.
(Age: 7-10) Recommended. Maxx is back! I remember the Maxx Rumble footy books that were huge hit with the grade 3 & 4 boys but I must have missed this cricket series first released in 2004.
Maxx has to survive the pressure of playing against the Princely Pigdogs especially their bowler Happy. It's a tough game and the final result relies on the batting power of Maxx himself.
The book is full of jokes and puns. Thegroup photo, at the beginning of the book shows all the Stone Valley Saints including players called 'I. Drew Nuffin' and 'Lynn C. Doyle'.
The humorous illustrations by Terry Denton are just as important as the text and make the book an entertaining read.
This will appeal to all the younger cricket fans but even I enjoyed it ( cricket is a form of torture to me! )
The book is only 38 pages long and contains official club records and a cricket ladder to compere scores after round 1. There are 8 books in the series, all with a powerful catchy one word title.
Recommended for 7 to 10 year olds or should I just say 'Recommended!', in the spirit of the books themselves.
Jane Moore