A Definitely Different Summer

When Kathleen, nicknamed Cricket, goes with her parents to Jacob’s Island for the summer she worries that she’ll be bored as the entire island is uninhabited and there’s no internet. But the holiday ends up being a great adventure when Cricket discovers the story of the tragic shipwreck behind the name of the island.

This is an exciting adventure story with immediately likable characters. It will appeal to lovers of Nancy Drew and Famous Five stories as Cricket solves a mystery and makes a very unexpected friendship. The illustrations throughout the story also give this novel the feel of an Enid Blyton book, and also makes the book more appealing to younger readers.

This story is based upon the real incident, which gives the reader a chance to learn about real events in New Zealand. The SS Tatarua was a passenger steamer that struck the reef off Waipapa Point in the Catlins on 29 April 1881. It sank the next day and is still regarded as the worst civilian shipping disaster in our history. Of the 151 passengers and crew on board, only 20 survived.

Title: A Definitely Different Summer

Author: Elizabeth Pulford

Illustrator: Mike Codling

Publisher: Bateman Books

ISBN:9781988538983

RRP:$19.99

Format: Paperback

Publication: October 2021

Ages: 8-12 years (Upper Primary)

Do you have any advisory warnings for this book?No

Reviewer: Angela Thompson, Teacher Librarian, Remarkables Primary School, Queenstown

How are you recommending this book? Recommended

Opening sentence: My parents are DD. You want to know what DD means. Okay. Here goes.

Definitely Different. Definitely Dorky. Definitely Dinosaurs.

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