Jon Tucker’s Those Kids series is set of linked sailing adventure books featuring some Kiwi and Aussie kids coping with unexpected challenges, whilst learning about contemporary environmental issues along the way.
Targeted at year 6 to 9 student level, they are each around 200 pages of compelling high-interest content laid out in illustrated readable-length chapters. This structure is also ideal for adults to read aloud.
Book 1: Those Snake Island Kids
When three Tasmanian kids are joined by Kiwi twins to camp on a small local island with an Optimist dinghy, things turn out rather more complicated than expected. (Environmental theme: minimum impact, feral cats)
Book 2: Those Eco-Pirate Kids
During a sailing holiday in Sydney’s northern waterways Fin empties someone’s illegal net full of undersized fish. The subsequent events turn a fun holiday into a serious game of hide and seek. (Environmental theme: sustainability) Runner-up for the 2015 Environmental Award for Children’s Literature.
Book 3: Those Shipwreck Kids
When a Tasmanian sailing family anchors near an old wrecked hulk in the Marlborough Sounds, the kids discover a strangely abandoned campsite nearby, with plates of uneaten food and children’s toys still visible under
the mould. (Environmental theme: predator control issues)
Book 4: Those Sugar-Barge Kids
Not yet published, this is set in NZ’s Bay of Islands. (Environmental theme: climate change and sea-level rise)
Available online , from selected bookshops, or email stormbaybooks@gmail.com