Urban Legend Hunters: The dreaded Mr Snipe by Joel McKerrow and Wayne Bryant

Readers who enjoy scary stories, fart references along with their smells(!), and children doing exactly what they have been asked not to do while on school camp, will enjoy this first time graphic novel from Joel McKerrow. Set in a forest where Shadow Grove Public School’s annual student camp is taking place, there is a rumour that living nearby is the dreaded Mr Snipe whose gruesome reputation send shivers down children’s spines.

The three main characters who take centre stage include Jeremy, the over-confident and perpetual storyteller of scary things, Sam, a bold fiercely independent sporty loner as well as a non-believer of scary things, and Bad Boris, a gentle giant of a child who does not deserve his name and dislikes scary things. The three unlikely friends work together to solve the mystery of the dreaded Mr Snipe which has a rather unexpected twist.

The story alternates between graphic-novel format and handwritten text complemented by illustrations and surrounded by plenty of white space. This duel layout works extremely well and allows a natural flow to the story. For those upper primary/early secondary readers who struggle with the amount of words in a more traditional novel, the Urban Legend Hunters series will provide a humorous, adventurous and engaging read. The second book: Urban Legend Hunters #2 The Hideous Mrs Mortimer is coming soon.

Themes: School Camp, Storytelling, Scary Tales, Friends, Adventure, Humour.

Kathryn Beilby