Joe had a bad day at school. Everything went wrong…FIRSTLY, he had to read to the class and that was his worst nightmare, reading in front of everyone.

THEN, he scored an own goal in football.

LATER, after eating three chocolate eclairs at Gran’s house, she tells him about a raid in the bank this morning. The robbers had guns and monster masks! To Joe it sounded exciting, if only he could have been there too!

#TheTurkeyShedGang #RuthYoung @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour

But his opinion soon changes when he realises the danger his Gran is now faced with. She shows him a bag full of money that she picked up by mistake, thinking it was her shopping after the raid.

Joe decides the only thing to do to keep her safe is for them to go on the run. They must go before the police come to arrest her or worse still, the robbers find out she has their money. To add to his problems, Gran wants to take Mr Percival with them, a talking parrot she inherited from a neighbour.

A school boy, his gran and a parrot on the run, what could possibly go wrong?

My Review

A school boy, his gran and a parrot on the run, what could possibly go wrong? Well, everything it would seem.

Hilarious story aimed at 7 to 9 year olds and it’s perfect for this age group, whether the children are independent readers or the story is read to them. I particularly loved Mr Percival, a talking, often slightly rude, sulphur crested cockatoo. His vocabulary is better than some people I know. Pieces of eight. Shiver me timbers. He seems to know hundreds of words and phrases.

The story is actually written from Joe’s point of view so we can see how he imagines what trouble his gran would be in for making off with someone else’s money. They need to keep a low profile at all times. But where can they go and how will they get there? Incidentally, I’m hoping that we are seeing Gran from Joe’s point of view as she seems very old-fashioned to me and I’m older than her. She’s more like my granny from the sixties.

There is also a more serious side to the story. Joe has dyslexia, so reading out loud to the class really is a nightmare for him. He’s good at football, but when he scores an own goal it is just another disaster that day. Gran has the beginnings of dementia and forgets important things and we also learn that the family has money worries.

Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

Q & A with Scarlett Jordan, Age 8

What do you think of the cover?
Good. I’d pick it up in a shop.

Was the book funny?
Yes it was.

Did having a parrot with them add to the humour?
Yes definitely. The parrot was funny.

Who was your favourite character?
Mr Percival, the parrot!

Would you have behaved in the same way as Joe and go on the run?
Not sure. He’s quite childish, but then I am a year older than him.

Did you like Gran? Did you think she was old-fashioned compared to your two nannies?
I liked her. I didn’t really notice that she was old-fashioned.

Would you recommend this book to your friends?
Yes I think they would like it.

About the Author

Ruth has been a teacher for a very long time. She loves being in the classroom making learning fun and specialises in teaching reading and spelling. Now retired, Ruth teaches children with learning difficulties at her home and it doesn’t matter how old they are, she loves to help!

Ruth has always told stories to the children she teaches. Her book, The Turkey Shed Gang, is for 7–8-year-old independent readers. She also writes for dyslexic children in mind so that they can read a book, maybe with a little help, which is age appropriate for them.

When she’s not teaching, Ruth loves walking in the Surrey Hills where she lives with her husband, who is a retired airline Captain. They take every chance to travel worldwide and it’s on trips away that Ruth comes up with her ideas for her books, always scribbling notes down in her purple notebook which she carries everywhere.

Ruth loves baking bread and cakes and is always in the kitchen with her vast collection of cookery books. She has been interviewed by the BBC three times about writing, environmental issues and her work with dyslexic children, and had an article published in a national magazine for parents.

Follow her at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.young.127
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ruthyoung6/

Buy Link – https://geni.us/5IaP4M