January 2025: I might be the only person on the planet who didn't know who Jamie Oliver was before I read this book. He's a chef. He has trouble with words and is apparently dyslexic. He wrote a book.
I read lots of raving reviews about it....but I'm not on board. I didn't think it was really well written. I also thought it was way to long for J fiction. He could have made each adventure one book if he really wants kids to read it. Close to 400 pages is too much. Although, the pictures were great. They were big and interesting and really well done.
I always tell my students, when we are learning narrative writing, that they can't a story with "I got up and had breakfast" and they can't end it with "I went home, had dinner and went to bed". Jamie Oliver does that with EVERY single chapter. I know he's a food guy....but it was too much.
The recipes were interesting. Not sure why he also added his favorite movies from the 80s. Maybe they inspired his story? I don't know.
It's part Narnia (they escape into a magical forest....David Robertson did a Narnia remake way better in The Barren Grounds), part environmental education (something is wrong with the "Rhythm"....which is always capitalized in the book....I'd encourage kids to read Willowdeen instead of they want that topic) and part adventure (Magic Tree House anyone?).
Oh. And it's called the GIANT adventure because there's a giant....but you don't find that out until the last few chapters. Weird.
There's controversy with book 2. He has been criticized for stereotyping First Nations people in Australia. I blame that one on the editors. Seriously? No one clued in?? I think they just ran with something they thought could really sell because he's already famous.
Because we picked this for our Grade 3 book club book, I did finish it. I wouldn't have otherwise.
I don't usually have this much to say about books I don't like.
Update: My students LOVED this book. Maybe I should stop being such a grumpy old teacher. LOL We sat in a circle and talked about our favorite parts. Ten students had read it and their responses were so delightful. We had lots of laughs remembering the funny parts of the book.
Reread August 2025. I'm still not a fan. This is a terribly written book. It could have been 200 pages if all the food stuff that kids aren't interested in was left out. With this read I wrote out chapter summaries to help keep myself focused.
Chapter summaries:
Chapter 1 The Day It All Began We meet all the kids (Billy, Anna, Andy and Jimmy), a bully named Bruce Brace and Basil. Basil is a sprite that lives in Waterfall Woods. He warns them about the boonas - a rag tag group of creatures that like to bother the sprites
Chapter 2 Boonas vs Billy Billy goes into Waterfall Woods alone because he got a message on his necklace that Basil needed help. He has a confrontation with the boonas....all solved with some dramatic fighting which Billy wins dramatically. The worst of the boonas was Mama Boona but Billy conquers her by throwing food his mother had packed for him in a picnic basket (I guess this fit in his backpack?) Billy goes home and shares with his friends that the sprites have told him about a problem in Waterfall Woods - an imbalance.
Chapter 3 Basil to the Rescue Billy's experience with the Boonas gives him courage to take on Bruno the bully at school. Bruno dumps Billy's lunch on his head, steals his donut when he leaves the bakery shop. They have an altercation and finally Billy zips off on his skateboard, only to crash into a lady whose groceries go flying. While trying to help her, of course, Bruno catches up. But Basil freezes everyone. He spends the weekend at his grandfather's house and finds out he knows about the rhythm and about a strange mystery of two brothers who went into Waterfall Woods and one disappeared.
Chapter 4 Battle of the Treehouse The Boonas come to attack Billy. They managed to get a piece of his clothing in the wrestle in the previous chapter. All the kids are in the treehouse. Luckily, Andy eats a lot of beans and has gas and so they're able to create fire while farting on a flame. The Boonas have never seen anything like this and run in fear. Andy is named Andy the Fart Blaster.
Chapter 5 The Lost City
Goodreads says:
One pinch of adventure, a dash of friendship, a sprinkle of mystery and a HUGE spoonful of magic . . . Jamie Oliver, bestselling author and internationally renowned chef, delivers the perfect recipe for a page-turning children's fiction debut!
Billy and his friends know that Waterfall Woods is out of bounds; strange things are rumoured to have happened there and no one in their village has ventured past its walls for decades...But when they discover a secret way in, Billy and his best friends, Anna, Jimmy and Andy, can't resist the temptation to explore! Only to quickly discover that the woods are brimming with magic and inhabited by all sorts of unusual creatures, including a whole community of sprites who need the children's help!
With magical battles, a long-lost mythical city, fantastical flying machines, epic feasts and one GIANT rescue, get ready for an adventure you'll never forget!
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