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Round the Twist
How do you make a cane toad eat a frog? What happens when Linda copies herself? How do kids get parts in TV shows? What does Rabbit do when he is put on FAST FORWARD? What does it feel like to kiss another teenage actor? How do you write a script?The answers will send you round the twist. This book includes three of Paul Jennings' classic short stories (including The Great Spaghetti Pig Out and The Copy), as well as the low-down on how the television series was made.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Paul Jennings
275 books367 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Paul Jennings was born in Heston near London, and at the age of 6 emigrated to Melbourne, Australia on a boat. He was on the boat for 5 weeks with his family. He attended Bentleigh West Primary School and Caulfield Grammar School.
After graduating from school, he went to Frankston Teachers College (now part of Monash University) and became a teacher. He taught students at Frankston State School, Kangaroo Flat State School, the Turana Youth Training Centre, and the Royal Children's Hospital State School in Mount Eliza. He later went on to study at the Lincoln Institute of Health Science (now part of LaTrobe University) and became a speech pathologist, then worked as a Lecturer in Special Education at Burwood State College (now part of Deakin University). In 1979 he became Senior Lecturer in Language and Literature at Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (now part of Deakin University).
In 1985, Jennings' first book of short stories, Unreal! was published, during which he worked as a lecturer and wrote part-time; in 1989, he made the decision to devote his full time to writing. Many of his short stories, published between 1985 and 1991, were also adapted into the first and second series of the popular Australian television show Round the Twist.
Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (2000).
Paul Jennings was born in Heston near London, and at the age of 6 emigrated to Melbourne, Australia on a boat. He was on the boat for 5 weeks with his family. He attended Bentleigh West Primary School and Caulfield Grammar School.
After graduating from school, he went to Frankston Teachers College (now part of Monash University) and became a teacher. He taught students at Frankston State School, Kangaroo Flat State School, the Turana Youth Training Centre, and the Royal Children's Hospital State School in Mount Eliza. He later went on to study at the Lincoln Institute of Health Science (now part of LaTrobe University) and became a speech pathologist, then worked as a Lecturer in Special Education at Burwood State College (now part of Deakin University). In 1979 he became Senior Lecturer in Language and Literature at Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (now part of Deakin University).
In 1985, Jennings' first book of short stories, Unreal! was published, during which he worked as a lecturer and wrote part-time; in 1989, he made the decision to devote his full time to writing. Many of his short stories, published between 1985 and 1991, were also adapted into the first and second series of the popular Australian television show Round the Twist.
Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (2000).
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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January 16, 2016Well as an Australian I feel like I have to read this..
The show still entertains me, like who doesn't love a show where boys can get pregnant and people turn into werewolves and fall in love with dogs????
oh and to be honest Season 1 episode 1 still scares me to this day.
The show still entertains me, like who doesn't love a show where boys can get pregnant and people turn into werewolves and fall in love with dogs????
oh and to be honest Season 1 episode 1 still scares me to this day.
May 6, 2020
One of the best school memories I have, is sitting in class reading this gem of a kids novel! Jennings just nails the spirit and essence of what makes kids enjoy reading.. Australian Literature great of this there is no doubt!
“Have you every ever felt like this? When strange things happen.. Are ya going round the twist???”
“Have you every ever felt like this? When strange things happen.. Are ya going round the twist???”
September 29, 2026
I would have happily given this four stars, only it had too little of what made it great, and too much of the opposite. The stories themselves are mostly excellent - strange, peak-90s, and genuinely hilarious - but there are only THREE of them!
I understand that many of the stories later adapted for the show didn't originally have anything to do with Round the Twist. But it's a shame Paul Jennings didn't put in the extra time and effort to carry all these over into print so that he could readapt them to involve the Twist children and their hapless, atrociously haired father.
Instead, what we get is shallow filler material where he just makes a comment or two about the cast and crew and some of his favourite moments. I don't know if I could recommend watching the show itself without qualification, but I do know that as a child in Australia during the nineties, there was nothing more exciting than when the teacher decided to put one of these on for a rainy Friday afternoon. So, this book was a bit of a nostalgic treat for me, and I very much enjoyed struggling to read parts out loud to my son without breaking into laughter.
I just wanted so much more.
I understand that many of the stories later adapted for the show didn't originally have anything to do with Round the Twist. But it's a shame Paul Jennings didn't put in the extra time and effort to carry all these over into print so that he could readapt them to involve the Twist children and their hapless, atrociously haired father.
Instead, what we get is shallow filler material where he just makes a comment or two about the cast and crew and some of his favourite moments. I don't know if I could recommend watching the show itself without qualification, but I do know that as a child in Australia during the nineties, there was nothing more exciting than when the teacher decided to put one of these on for a rainy Friday afternoon. So, this book was a bit of a nostalgic treat for me, and I very much enjoyed struggling to read parts out loud to my son without breaking into laughter.
I just wanted so much more.
January 14, 2018
It was really cool to see how this TV series was made. Also, it was interesting to compare these stories to the actual episodes in the series. This novel shows where it all started.
"You can run away from the past. But you can't avoid the future."
I highly recommend this to all Australians'!!! (And anyone else for that matter!)
"You can run away from the past. But you can't avoid the future."
I highly recommend this to all Australians'!!! (And anyone else for that matter!)
November 3, 2023
This book is for kids and I grew up on Paul Jennings so I just wanted to read it for the nostalgia. BUT I am marking it down due to the racist joke/story (this copy included behind the scenes tidbits). I know it was the late 80s/early 90s but come on man.
January 13, 2020
Paul Jennings was a wonderful writer when I was growing up. Just twisted some great tales that sometimes became tv series and sometimes became series written with other people.
Great stories.
Great stories.
February 28, 2022
A childhood classic.
March 28, 2022
This was perfect, three of my favourite stories from the show.
July 6, 2018
Of my many memories growing up, one which stands out is watching the beloved TV series Round the Twist. One of the reasons for my love of Round the Twist was that its episodes (mainly those from the show’s first two seasons) were based on the short stories of Paul Jennings, one of my favourite authors whose works I enjoyed reading (and still enjoy). I grew up watching reruns of the show’s third and fourth seasons on TV, and would occasionally watch episodes from the show’s fourth and first seasons on VHS in primary school. I also watched several episodes from the first two seasons when the show aired on ABC Entertains (or as it was then called, ABC3). Growing up, the show was my favourite, and I still cherish it to this day, even watching some of the show’s episodes, and I even visited the Split Point Lighthouse at Aireys Inlet, which was featured in the show as the Twist’s lighthouse (for exterior shots only). I am also looking forward to watching the upcoming stage musical adaptation that will be released next year. Though it no longer airs, Round the Twist has found a new life online, as it is available to streaming on Prime Video along with Driven Crazy (another TV series based on Paul Jennings’ stories) and was briefly featured on Netflix. The show is also available on the YouTube channel Twisted Lunchbox.
I discovered this book at the school library in year 5, the same time I discovered the show’s first season. It tells the story of how Round the Twist was made, along with three episodes from the show, each one based on a short story from Paul Jennings: The Copy (based on the story of the same name from ‘Quirky Tails’, the episode is titled in the book as ‘Second Copy’), Lucky Lips (based on the short story of the same name from ‘Unreal’) and Spaghetti Pig-Out (based on the short story of the same name from ‘Uncanny’). Please note this book is about the show’s first season, and features the cast from that season of the show. I strongly recommend this book to all fans of both Paul Jennings’ stories and Round the Twist, young and old.
I discovered this book at the school library in year 5, the same time I discovered the show’s first season. It tells the story of how Round the Twist was made, along with three episodes from the show, each one based on a short story from Paul Jennings: The Copy (based on the story of the same name from ‘Quirky Tails’, the episode is titled in the book as ‘Second Copy’), Lucky Lips (based on the short story of the same name from ‘Unreal’) and Spaghetti Pig-Out (based on the short story of the same name from ‘Uncanny’). Please note this book is about the show’s first season, and features the cast from that season of the show. I strongly recommend this book to all fans of both Paul Jennings’ stories and Round the Twist, young and old.
May 30, 2014
The original and the best quirky tales for Paul Jennings. These books got me through a few of my awkward years I tell you. Even kids in these stories is the underdog or the want you want to cheer for. There is often twists and turns in every story and he also has a way with coming up with a killer ending. For 7 to 13 year olds.
April 29, 2009
Of course they had to release this on the heels of the TV series. Only includes three stories, kind of a mini best-of.
January 8, 2014
Really good Aussie read!!
September 27, 2015
I really loved the TV Series, and this was great to also find out some things that happened behind the scenes. Was a short book, which made it better.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews