Not Nits
Lucy Treloar
John Yahyeh

Koala 2003
84p., pbk., $12.95
0864614195

The book `Not Nits' is a hilarious fiction story for younger reader by Lucy Treloar. The great illustrations are by John Yahyeh and this book was published by Koala Books in 2003.

This is a very simple book to read. The text is not too difficult to understand and the chapters are short. Although there is not too much descriptive language, the eye-catching illustrations help to describe the different varieties of bugs and insects. The book is easy to follow all the way through the very basic plot. Some people might get slightly grossed out and feel a bit sick because of the very `realistic' pictures.

The book is about a young boy named Gus with an obsession for bugs. Unfortunately (for his mum) Gus gets nits! Gus loves his nits and will take on many dangerous sacrifices, such as going outside with a frilly shower cap on, to keep his disgusting little friends thriving.

Not much is mentioned about the characters apart from the basic facts like their name and age. I can't get a clear picture in my mind of what Gus and his family look like so I improvise by looking at the illustrations. The bugs are the main characters in this book; they are acutely described in the text along with the plentiful illustrations.

The author is trying to get the message across to children `GET RID OF NITS and her way of expressing it is quite effective.

My recommendation age for people to read this book is from ages six to nine. Even though I read it in half an hour I'm glad I read it, it helped me get over my phobia for large hairy spiders and I hope it works for other readers as well.

Holly 11 North Coast NSW