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The Peski Kids #1
The Mystery of the Squashed Cockroach
Life is hard enough without having to spend time with your siblings. But there is no other way for Joe, Fin and April Peski to solve the mystery of the cockroach catastrophes that is rocking their new home town of Currawong.
Along with Loretta, their stunningly beautiful yet sociopathic next-door neighbour, and Pumpkin, the world's worst trained dog, they set out to prove their innocence. Together they are The Peski Kids.
Along with Loretta, their stunningly beautiful yet sociopathic next-door neighbour, and Pumpkin, the world's worst trained dog, they set out to prove their innocence. Together they are The Peski Kids.
177 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 30, 2018
11 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
R.A. Spratt
45 books363 followersR.A. Spratt is an award-winning author and television writer. She lives in Bowral, Australia with her husband and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 27, 2018
Great rollicking fun. Pulls you in from the prologue and keeps hold until the end.
The Peski kids get pulled from the life they knew and dumped into the country with a father they never met. This town they move to is obsessed with a cockroach race and training cockroaches and everything cockroaches, until one by one the competitors start dying off. Can the Peski's find the killer before they get run out of town?
Spies, secrets and cockroaches make this an excellent step for Friday Barnes fans. Perfect for readers 8+.
The Peski kids get pulled from the life they knew and dumped into the country with a father they never met. This town they move to is obsessed with a cockroach race and training cockroaches and everything cockroaches, until one by one the competitors start dying off. Can the Peski's find the killer before they get run out of town?
Spies, secrets and cockroaches make this an excellent step for Friday Barnes fans. Perfect for readers 8+.
August 25, 2018
For some reason this wasn't on good reads I was looking for it being a fan of Friday Barnes but couldn't find it so here it is I put it on here cool right?
Okay, so I finally started reading this book and got it signed cool! Anywho this book was a tad bit of a let down since I adored her other two series but I mean this couldn't possibly be half as good as Friday Barnes but it was really as funny either but a pretty wholesome read an I will for sure continue to read this series!
Okay, so I finally started reading this book and got it signed cool! Anywho this book was a tad bit of a let down since I adored her other two series but I mean this couldn't possibly be half as good as Friday Barnes but it was really as funny either but a pretty wholesome read an I will for sure continue to read this series!
January 13, 2021
I haven't laughed aloud at a book this much for an age.
This is what Arrested Development would be like if it was a book for children. There are so much clever writing on every page. The wit of this novel reminded me of Catch-22.
This is what Arrested Development would be like if it was a book for children. There are so much clever writing on every page. The wit of this novel reminded me of Catch-22.
September 1, 2020
Funny and entertaining :) Happy to get started on a new series by R.A. Spratt.
August 12, 2018
When a gun-wielding masked woman kicks in the front door, siblings Joe, Fin and April’s lives change dramatically. Their palaeontologist mother is missing, caught at an Eastern European border crossing with a USB hidden inside the ulna of a stegosaurus. Professor Maynard, their mother’s boss needs to quickly move the children to safety away from the clutches of the evil Kolectiv hit team. There’s no going back when the Professor blows up their suburban house.
Their horticulturalist father who left the family when April was a baby lives in a tiny country town called Currawong. The quirky townsfolk are obsessed with cockroaches, holding an annual cockroach race. Given a new surname, the Peski kids are left with a father they don’t know, a lifestyle unfamiliar to them and a town filled with cockroach obsessed people.
After a disastrous first day of school, except for Joe’s surprising aptitude for lawn bowls, the children decide to try and fit in. Searching for cockroaches to enter into the race, involves breaking in to a neighbour’s house with the help of a teenage whirlwind Loretta Viswanathan. When Loretta’s expensive Madagascan cockroach is found dead in its aquarium, the Peski kids set out to solve the mystery. When the competitors for the annual race start dying off as well, Joe, Fin and April accompanied by Pumpkin the ankle-biting dog become detectives searching for clues.
The Mystery of the Squashed Cockroach captures the reader from the prologue, Joe, April and Fin argue, bicker and generally get on each other’s nerves, however they pull together in times of crisis. Each of their skills is needed to uncover the villain. Currawong’s cast of characters are unique and unusual adding humour to this fast-paced adventure. R. A. Spratt’s witty writing style and fast-paced plot make this an exciting new series. Life will never be the same, what adventures await in the next Peski Kids’ adventure? An exciting class novel for middle primary students.
Their horticulturalist father who left the family when April was a baby lives in a tiny country town called Currawong. The quirky townsfolk are obsessed with cockroaches, holding an annual cockroach race. Given a new surname, the Peski kids are left with a father they don’t know, a lifestyle unfamiliar to them and a town filled with cockroach obsessed people.
After a disastrous first day of school, except for Joe’s surprising aptitude for lawn bowls, the children decide to try and fit in. Searching for cockroaches to enter into the race, involves breaking in to a neighbour’s house with the help of a teenage whirlwind Loretta Viswanathan. When Loretta’s expensive Madagascan cockroach is found dead in its aquarium, the Peski kids set out to solve the mystery. When the competitors for the annual race start dying off as well, Joe, Fin and April accompanied by Pumpkin the ankle-biting dog become detectives searching for clues.
The Mystery of the Squashed Cockroach captures the reader from the prologue, Joe, April and Fin argue, bicker and generally get on each other’s nerves, however they pull together in times of crisis. Each of their skills is needed to uncover the villain. Currawong’s cast of characters are unique and unusual adding humour to this fast-paced adventure. R. A. Spratt’s witty writing style and fast-paced plot make this an exciting new series. Life will never be the same, what adventures await in the next Peski Kids’ adventure? An exciting class novel for middle primary students.
January 19, 2019
When a gun-wielding masked woman kicks in the front door, siblings Joe, Fin and April’s lives change dramatically. Their palaeontologist mother is missing, caught at an Eastern European border crossing with a USB hidden inside the ulna of a stegosaurus. Professor Maynard, their mother’s boss needs to quickly move the children to safety away from the clutches of the evil Kolectiv hit team. There’s no going back when the Professor blows up their suburban house.
Their horticulturalist father who left the family when April was a baby lives in a tiny country town called Currawong. The quirky townsfolk are obsessed with cockroaches, holding the annual cockroach race. Given a new surname, the Peski kids are left with a father they don’t know, a lifestyle unfamiliar to them and a town filled with cockroach obsessed people.
After a disastrous first day of school, except for Joe’s surprising aptitude for lawn bowls, the children decide to try and fit in. Searching for cockroaches to enter into the race, involves breaking in to a neighbour’s house with the help of a teenage whirlwind Loretta Viswanathan. When Loretta’s expensive Madagascan cockroach is found dead in its aquarium, the Peski kids set out to solve the mystery. When the competitors for the annual race start dying off as well, Joe, Fin and April accompanied by Pumpkin the ankle-biting dog become detectives searching for clues.
The Mystery of the Squashed Cockroach captures the reader from the prologue, Joe, April and Fin argue, bicker and generally get on each other’s nerves, however they pull together in times of crisis. Each of their skills is needed to uncover the villain. Currawong’s cast of characters are unique and unusual adding humour to this fast-paced adventure.
Their horticulturalist father who left the family when April was a baby lives in a tiny country town called Currawong. The quirky townsfolk are obsessed with cockroaches, holding the annual cockroach race. Given a new surname, the Peski kids are left with a father they don’t know, a lifestyle unfamiliar to them and a town filled with cockroach obsessed people.
After a disastrous first day of school, except for Joe’s surprising aptitude for lawn bowls, the children decide to try and fit in. Searching for cockroaches to enter into the race, involves breaking in to a neighbour’s house with the help of a teenage whirlwind Loretta Viswanathan. When Loretta’s expensive Madagascan cockroach is found dead in its aquarium, the Peski kids set out to solve the mystery. When the competitors for the annual race start dying off as well, Joe, Fin and April accompanied by Pumpkin the ankle-biting dog become detectives searching for clues.
The Mystery of the Squashed Cockroach captures the reader from the prologue, Joe, April and Fin argue, bicker and generally get on each other’s nerves, however they pull together in times of crisis. Each of their skills is needed to uncover the villain. Currawong’s cast of characters are unique and unusual adding humour to this fast-paced adventure.
August 24, 2018
I wasn't too sure what to expect with this story but it certainly goes off like a bunch of firecrackers! The action starts right from the first page and hardly lets up and we get plenty of personal characters as they careen along life's roller coaster.
I am told that the author is Australian but it is very difficult to really establish just where in the world the kids are. The only clues that they're in Australia are they're sent to a place called Currawong (which is an Australian bird) and the other terminology of PE and Kmart are pretty good indicators. Incidentally, there is a place called Currawong Beach which is a North Shore suburb of Sydney but the place described by the author is a very small isolated inland village.
The confusion to make one wonder if it takes place in the UK is that I'm pretty sure it would be difficult and quite unlikely for the children's mother to leave Eastern Europe by air to be home by lunchtime or in the afternoon and the reference to the Chelsea Flower Show. I'm not sure why Australian authors are shy to mention Australian locations in their works.
These children are very brainy, argumentative and whilst at least two of them become quite endearing, (April is rather recalcitrant and her dog is a small canine horror!) they find it hard to fit in with the mainstream community - which happens to be fairly wacky anyway!
If you like action and plenty of blunders along the way, then you'll enjoy this book - Along with all the cockroaches! And would you believe it? There is to be a sequel! I am definitely looking forward to that!
I am told that the author is Australian but it is very difficult to really establish just where in the world the kids are. The only clues that they're in Australia are they're sent to a place called Currawong (which is an Australian bird) and the other terminology of PE and Kmart are pretty good indicators. Incidentally, there is a place called Currawong Beach which is a North Shore suburb of Sydney but the place described by the author is a very small isolated inland village.
The confusion to make one wonder if it takes place in the UK is that I'm pretty sure it would be difficult and quite unlikely for the children's mother to leave Eastern Europe by air to be home by lunchtime or in the afternoon and the reference to the Chelsea Flower Show. I'm not sure why Australian authors are shy to mention Australian locations in their works.
These children are very brainy, argumentative and whilst at least two of them become quite endearing, (April is rather recalcitrant and her dog is a small canine horror!) they find it hard to fit in with the mainstream community - which happens to be fairly wacky anyway!
If you like action and plenty of blunders along the way, then you'll enjoy this book - Along with all the cockroaches! And would you believe it? There is to be a sequel! I am definitely looking forward to that!
March 5, 2021
OMG! THIS BOOK IS AWESOME!!
SO first things first:
This book is about Fin, Joe, & April Banfield. They're siblings and when Professor Maynard, their mother's boss (who is usually looking like the type of granny who would knit and do stuff like that), kicks down the door to their house while brandishing a gun-like taser, the kids find out the truth about their mother. She's actually an international super spy who can bump off heads of states and performs very well on her lying tests, NOT the paleontologist they thought she was. Their mother had been captured so the kids need to leave their home and live... with their dad. Their dad left them because he's scared of their mother (DO NOT ASK WHY! JUST READ THE BOOK!). And he lives in this crazy town where everyone is CUCKOO CRAZY about COCKROACHES! As the siblings say it:
"It's like we've entered a paralell universe where cockroaches are so important...!"
"...and dental hygiene isn't."
They make friends with their stunning neighbour, Loretta Viswanathawan? I dunno! Her last name is so long! Anyways, Loretta's cockroach was killed and she wants the Peski (They had to change their last names!) kids to help her investigate who the murderer is. I won't tell more, just go on and read it!
I got this book for my 9th birthday from one of my friends and I absolutely loved it! At 9 years old, I didn't understand most of the words, but when I was 10 years old, it was easier for me to read it and I really really loved it.
Based on my experience, I recommend this book for 9 - 12 year olds. But for parents who are paranoid about their kids reading love stuff, maybe this isn't the choice because it's a...
*SPOILER ALERT*
..bit mushy between Fin, Joe, and Loretta.
SO first things first:
This book is about Fin, Joe, & April Banfield. They're siblings and when Professor Maynard, their mother's boss (who is usually looking like the type of granny who would knit and do stuff like that), kicks down the door to their house while brandishing a gun-like taser, the kids find out the truth about their mother. She's actually an international super spy who can bump off heads of states and performs very well on her lying tests, NOT the paleontologist they thought she was. Their mother had been captured so the kids need to leave their home and live... with their dad. Their dad left them because he's scared of their mother (DO NOT ASK WHY! JUST READ THE BOOK!). And he lives in this crazy town where everyone is CUCKOO CRAZY about COCKROACHES! As the siblings say it:
"It's like we've entered a paralell universe where cockroaches are so important...!"
"...and dental hygiene isn't."
They make friends with their stunning neighbour, Loretta Viswanathawan? I dunno! Her last name is so long! Anyways, Loretta's cockroach was killed and she wants the Peski (They had to change their last names!) kids to help her investigate who the murderer is. I won't tell more, just go on and read it!
I got this book for my 9th birthday from one of my friends and I absolutely loved it! At 9 years old, I didn't understand most of the words, but when I was 10 years old, it was easier for me to read it and I really really loved it.
Based on my experience, I recommend this book for 9 - 12 year olds. But for parents who are paranoid about their kids reading love stuff, maybe this isn't the choice because it's a...
*SPOILER ALERT*
..bit mushy between Fin, Joe, and Loretta.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2018
Age - 7+
The Peski kids aren't like other kids. Joe is the oldest, with a terrible stutter for no apparent reason who avoids any situation where he may have to talk and embarrass himself. His younger brother Fin seems normal until he's anywhere near their younger sister April. They fight constantly. April is a firm feminist, argumentative, abrasive, rude, opinionated and keen on wrestling anyone who annoys her, (mostly Fin), and setting her dog on everyone else.
When they are told their mother isn't at all who they think she is, and then asked to pack their bags in less than a minute or they may die, things start to get really interesting for the trio. They are sent to live with their father in a tiny town called Currawong. A jittery wreck with paranoia after learning who is wife really is; their dad has no idea they are coming, and no idea how to look after them.
The kids soon discover the town is even crazier than they are, worshipping cockroaches for the annual races and training them for the event. But someone is killing them off and the trio are soon under suspicion.
A zany, crazy, funny story about family, fears and how many ways you can kill a cockroach!
(Series, Siblings, Family, Secrets, Spies, Mystery, Humour, Funny, Crush)
The Peski kids aren't like other kids. Joe is the oldest, with a terrible stutter for no apparent reason who avoids any situation where he may have to talk and embarrass himself. His younger brother Fin seems normal until he's anywhere near their younger sister April. They fight constantly. April is a firm feminist, argumentative, abrasive, rude, opinionated and keen on wrestling anyone who annoys her, (mostly Fin), and setting her dog on everyone else.
When they are told their mother isn't at all who they think she is, and then asked to pack their bags in less than a minute or they may die, things start to get really interesting for the trio. They are sent to live with their father in a tiny town called Currawong. A jittery wreck with paranoia after learning who is wife really is; their dad has no idea they are coming, and no idea how to look after them.
The kids soon discover the town is even crazier than they are, worshipping cockroaches for the annual races and training them for the event. But someone is killing them off and the trio are soon under suspicion.
A zany, crazy, funny story about family, fears and how many ways you can kill a cockroach!
(Series, Siblings, Family, Secrets, Spies, Mystery, Humour, Funny, Crush)
August 3, 2018
Friday Barnes is one of our most popular series in Junior Fiction so we were very excited to hear that the hilarious R.A Spratt has a new group of children to write about. Siblings Joe, Fin and April have the surprise of their lives when they find out their mother, who they thought was a boring middle aged woman, is actually an international super spy who has been arrested. They end up in the care of their father, who they don’t know very well, in the tiny country town of Currawong. Life here, completely different from the city, is a definite change for them. They soon find themselves embroiled in the mystery of who is killing all the cockroaches ahead of the great annual cockroach race. The combination of sibling drama, mystery, international espionage and the quirkiness of small town living, make for a very funny read.
Suitable for 8+
Suitable for 8+
September 21, 2024
Spratt's Jacks #22
The Peski Kids #1
First in a new series from Spratt, is in my favourable-meter somewhere in the middle between Nanny Piggins and Friday Barnes.
Absurd over the top characters and a silly plot are all signature themes, but it was quite engaging.
I wonder if these kids will ever meet Friday Barnes?
The Peski Kids #1
First in a new series from Spratt, is in my favourable-meter somewhere in the middle between Nanny Piggins and Friday Barnes.
Absurd over the top characters and a silly plot are all signature themes, but it was quite engaging.
I wonder if these kids will ever meet Friday Barnes?
August 8, 2018
This book is absolutely hilarious!
October 4, 2018
The Peski Kids and The Mystery of the Squashed Cockroach is really good but it is very different if you have read Nanny Piggins or Friday Barnes but I reccomend it.
October 9, 2018
A super fun mystery story filled with plenty of action.
February 9, 2019
This book was exceptionally good and I would recommend it to everyone.
August 18, 2019
AMAZING
June 20, 2022
Listened to the book in it’s entirety on her podcast. Perfect for a car trip! My seven year old twins really enjoyed this first book in the series.
December 28, 2022
Listened to the audiobook. Absolutely hilarious. Kids book but so well done that adults will also love it.
December 22, 2020
3.5 stars. This story is hilarious (especially when read out loud by the author!) and just plain good fun. No big, heavy themes, but a fair bit of enjoyment. Given all the set up at the start, I was expecting a little more action/adventure. Interested to see where the series goes from here.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews