1. Brothers
2. Children, Aboriginal Australian
3. Families
4. Fathers
5. Grandparents
6. Humour
7. Resilience

This 64-page early chapter book is a must read for all those who love family pranks! Robbie, a young boy, is in trouble with everyone in his family. A plan to play a prank on his mates goes wrong when Rosalie, his sister, finds a jar of rabbit poo in the fridge and thinks it is chocolate sultanas. There are more mishaps and tricks, including a tale of a snared backside and a cake with fabulous blue frosting. The rest of Robbie’s family – Dad, Gran, Mum and Rosalie – all have tricks up their sleeves.

‘Mucking Up Big Time’ is an action-packed, and fun read featuring a multigenerational Aboriginal family. The tension between Robbie and his sister Rosalie runs throughout the book, which is peppered with other dramas, discussions and decisions affecting the whole family. In the end togetherness and forgiveness win the day.

‘Mucking Up Big Time’ is written in easy-to-read prose with a lot of dialogue and appealing black-and-white illustrations on almost every page. It is one in a series of books featuring Indigenous characters published by Omnibus Books. Author Sally Morgan belongs to the Palku and Nyamal peoples of the Pilbara. Craig Smith is a well-known Australian children’s book illustrator.

1. Teacher Notes. ‘Mucking Up Big Time’. Scholastic Australia. https://resource.scholastic.com.au/resourceFiles/8493313_65807.pdf
2. Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures. ‘Homemade Chocolate Covered Raisins’. https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/homemade-chocolate-covered-raisins/
3. Some of the greatest April Fools’ pranks of all time. CNN, 1 April 2019. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/01/us/best-april-fools-day-pranks-trnd/index.html
4. Book People, Interview with Sally Morgan by Megan Daley. ‘Ten things you need to know about Sally Morgan’, 3 August 2015 https://childrensbooksdaily.com/book_reviews/book-people-sally-morgan/