Kidding Around 
Margaret Clark

Aussie Angels 17

Hodder Headline Australia 2002

140p., paperback $12.95

ISBN  0  7336  1487  6  

I chose Kidding Around to review because I knew Margaret Clarks Aussie Angels series was about animals, so chose this book because I like animals and animal books.

Kara Bronley is hoping for one of Marks new Labrador puppies and the Angels end up with a herd of goats!  Kidding Around also has an interesting story about Boriss brother escaping from jail and running from the police,

Kidding Around gets you hooked from the very beginning, and is even worth getting in trouble for reading at night in bed. It is a great book aimed at primary school students. This book is suitable for ages 7 to 12 years old, but you do need to be good at concentrating on the book because it has a hidden  message. The characters and their relationships are very realistic.  

Even though Kidding Around does not have any pictures in it, it does not need any because the book is really well described and written. If you want to understand it better, I think its better to read the other Aussie Angels books (1-16) first.

It would be a great gift, because its easy to read and you feel like youre in the story with them all the time.  It has a great ending and it entertains you.

Kidding Around is also great because it is a read-along book, it's also a read-aloud book and a read-alone book.

Vanessa, 10, Canberra

" No you love-dummy it's called flirting."

"Get lost," he said

Kara is in love with Mark but in his opinion , is the worst girl in the world. Kara has been blackmailing him for one of his pups on the bus, but she's not the only one doing silly things. Ricky Valdini is doing worse, little does he know things mightn't turn out as planned and end up in a bad place (not his bedroom without any supper)!

But Even more dangers lurk as Boris's Boola of a brother escapes jail and  Boris has to give an unexpected visit to the Green's house, which may be for a while.

Mark's substitute teacher Mr. Brennan also has a bit of a moving problem with moving to Melbourne with a couple of goats, so who are you going to call? The Greens of course! But as the young devil Mark walks to the caravan park souvenir shop for a present who should he meet along the way? A nice lady who was wondering if they wanted a few goats!

I think this is a good book for students in year two to six who like books and animals. I also think some of the readers can relate to Mark, Meg and Mike. This is a series book and would be good to  read after reading the previous Aussie Angels books.
Catherine, 12, Canberra

Kidding Around is a great book written by Margaret Clark and is about a family (called the Greens) who run an animal refuge. A motor cyclist crashes into the school bus and he turns out to be a criminal on the run. He is also Boris (the Greens best friend) brother. Then they decide to get some goats from a teacher and a lady at the caravan park. They turn out to be a handful. Boris comes to stay when his parents run away with his brother.  This is an action-packed story and is pretty funny.

I think that the book Kidding Around was written for about 9 to 12 year olds. I think that any people that read this would be very interested and would find it hard to put down (I did). It was a good choice of topic and the  story line was easy for me to find and even easier to follow. It was simple to read and it was really interesting. I think that this is a terrific book and I really enjoyed reading it. Ive already read it about three times. I can not wait to read the next one. I recommend Kidding Around.

Jacob, aged 11, Canberra, ACT