Frog is sooo bored! He just can’t face another talk about snakes from his classmates. Thankful he picked giant turtles to do his talk on, he knows he must shake things up before the entire class falls asleep. Frog has always been a bit different and relishes in it. He wears op-shop jackets and ties over his tee shirts, and enjoys doing things in his own way.

On the way to the front of the class, he decides he’s going to take his mum’s advice on tapping into inner creativity. As he talks about the giant turtle he performs a slow dance, planning for turtle ballet but just getting laughed at. For even more effect he climbs on a desk. It doesn’t end well. When a classmate says something nasty as he heads back to his own desk he’s left stinging inside.

Frog is used to name calling, as he has been the new kid more than once before. The last school was the worst, but he developed ways to beat the bullying. Later, outside the classroom, the bully has another go at him, but this time he bites back. He knows the ‘game’ even if he doesn’t really want to play it. All is going well, until he tells a white lie to take the heat off himself.

This make everything way worse. Now the bully tells him to prove what he’s saying – that he has a twin brother. He wishes he’d just taken another classmate’s advice to ignore the bully. How is he going to get out of this one? Luckily he some expert help willing to get him off the hook.

While Frog digs an even bigger hole for himself by telling even more lies, he’s also learning about the classmates that also share his cul-de-sac. Maybe he’s not the only one with problems?

The 2nd in this funny series about six kids who live in Turtle Place, this time we get to know Frog. He’s new to the cul-de-sac and new to Room 6B at Richmond Public School. You can definitely read this episode without the first, and I’m sure that will follow through with each coming novel. No.3 in the BORED series will be from Evie’s point of view.

This is a wonderful way to portray the completely different lives of children, even if they live in the same street, and go to the same school.

Frog’s Mystery Twin begins with Boredom, quickly turns into verbal Bullying and how to cope with it, then morphs into digital wizardry, reasons for the bullying, and apologies from more than one direction.

Loved both books so far. This is going to be a great series.

Author / Illustrator – Matt Stanton

Age – 8+

Read another book review from this series here (Click on the Cover)

(2022, Harper Collins, Bullies, Family, Friendship, Growing up, Humour, School, Secret, Photos, Photoshop, Lies, Worries, Guilt, Apologies, Apology, I’m Sorry, Classroom, Tactics, Series)