The Hat Trick

by Terry Deary

This book is suitable for reluctant readers of 8-13 with a reading age of below eight years. It is printed on cream paper, which is proven to be more restful on the eye. The font is specially designed to encourage a smooth and easy read. There are frequent page breaks, short, headed chapters and illustrations on almost every page. A wide range of specialists, including children themselves, have read and commented on the book prior to publication.

62 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

A former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29. Most famously, he is one of the authors of the Horrible Histories series of books popular among children for their disgusting details, gory information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history. Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated.

A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CiTV for a period in 2002.

The first series of a live-action comedy sketch show of the same name was shown on CBBC in 2009 and a second series is due.

Terry is also known widely throughout children and adult reading groups alike for his True Stories series (see below for series list).

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000. His numerous accolades also include the Blue Peter "Best Nonfiction Author of the Century" Award in the U.K.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cor, what a twist at the end! Even my oldest boy was surprised.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Terry Diary book for the younger reader with, if you are old enough to remember, a touch of the old Billy's Boots about it. Anyway this has no Dead Shot Keane in it, but there are some parts which make it seem familiar. An average read.

[ANol · Rating 2 out of 5]

My poor 7yo boy cried twice in this book. The shame when the ball hits Jud's nose and makes it blush and the ending felt brutal. We didn't expect it. I won't be getting any of my other children to read it.

[Shorouq Al-Khateeb · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a shock at the end of the story where the boy was actually a girl !!

[Riho Uto · Rating 4 out of 5]

11/13=24min
Jud-likes-football-mother-disagree-because-girl
Q. Have you ever told that you should behave like a girl/boy? For example?
A. Yes. I behaved like a boy when I was a child because I have two older brothers. So, I always followed them and did the same things. Some people said if you have a older brother, you may behave like a boy. I thought it is exactly. I liked playing video game and playing sports such as baseball. But recently I learned about the gender of education. Teachers should not judge or divide about perspective of gender. But it is difficult to do that. Because we have some preconception from our childhood. This book made me thinking about gender and preconception.

[Alhassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hat trick by Terry Deary is a book about a girl that likes to play soccer with her Dad. One day in Christmas her dad preformed for her a magic trick. Then he handed Jud a pair of soccer shoes. Jud was so happy she cold not waits to try them on tomorrow. The next day Jud and her dad went to the park they saw two teams playing. Jud's school against another school. Jud played really well and he helps his team to win. When Jud and her dad go home they burn the shoes and Jud`s mom is very angry at them.

[Rebecca Stonehill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's mainly about a boy's dad who has a magic hat and out of it he takes some football boots (magic ones). He goes to a pitch where the fourth year's of his school are playing and he joins in and wins two goals for them. He puts the shoes in the oven to get the mud off but forgets about them......................!

(Review by Maya, age 8, Rebecca's daughter)

[Kandice Keen]

This was a funny book and very interesting.