Star League: Lights, Camera, Action

H. J. Harper (author)

Nahum Ziersch (illustrator)

Random House, Australia: June 2011

ISBN: 9781864718669

Genres: adventure

Issues: teamwork

Jay Casey, experienced child actor, is thrilled to receive an invitation to audition from his favourite director. He's stunned to find that the audition is for a real life action adventure as leader of the Star League, a group of very unusual children leading the fight against evil. Jay's used to film stuntwork, not actual violence. But then the bad guys threaten his beloved uncle. Can Jay find his leadership skills in time?

This new series from Random House deliberately targets reluctant readers who prefer their video games and TV animations to wordy texts but it is skilfully done. The action-packed story, the unusual abilities of the kids in the Star League, the use of robots – these are all elements of many popular video games. Harper has used sufficient 'kidspeak' to attract readers but the language still models good writing skills. Ziersch's illustrations will further attract video and anime addicts, having the dramatic composition and clean lines that make those styles so popular.

Good clean fun that is accessible to very young gifted readers.