Willa and Woof: Double the drama by Jacqueline Harvey

Double the Drama is the sixth book in a series for middle primary readers about a very likable 8-year-old girl called Willa, her best friend Tae, and her large, albino wolf hound, Woof.

Willa Jane Tate is very excited because she has the part of a grey nurse shark in the school production. Mark, the drama teacher at the high school, wrote the play about a whale that needs rescuing from a net. Mark is Willa’s best friend's dad, and he has also written a part in the play for Willa’s dog Woof. Willa is surprised that Rory, the new boy in Year 4 has the main part, but he has acting experience in an ad and, although Willa thinks he is annoying, everyone else seems to see him as smart and funny.  The worst part is that Rory has somehow convinced Tae (her best friend) to hang around with him instead of playing soccer with Willa at lunchtime.  The conflict between Willa, Tae, and Rory grows and forms quite a large part of this story. The book shows how this affects Willa and how Tae works out that Rory is not the friend he seems to be when he lets everyone down before the performance.  This book has some characters that were included because a family purchased an auction item to support Dymocks Children’s Charities great debate. A new family moves in across the road, including a boy with Down syndrome. They make a lovely appearance and put an extra layer into the story for Willa and her family as they get to know Hudson and help the family when he wanders away from home.

Themes: School plays, Dogs, Friendship, Conflict.

Gabrielle Anderson