The Extra-special Group

Hey Jack! #19

by Sally Rippin, Stephanie Spartels (Illustrator)

Spelling is hard for Jack. So is reading. He knows he needs some extra-special help, but will his friends make fun of him? Hey Jack!Hey Jack! is full of down-to-earth, realistic stories, with word art or illustration on every second page. Jack’s enormous imagination injects the series with fun and humor, and the books are carefully typeset to provide reading breaks.

43 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

Sally Rippin was born in Darwin, but grew up mainly in South-East Asia. As a young adult she lived in China for three years, studying traditional Chinese painting. Sally has over seventy books published, many of them award-winning, including two novels for young adults. Her most recent work includes the highly acclaimed children’s novel Angel Creek and the popular Billie B Brown books, which became the highest selling series for 6-8 year olds in Australia within the first year of their release. Sally is Australia’s highest selling female author and her Billie B Brown books have sold more than 4.5 million copies in 14 languages.
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Sally is a popular presenter in schools and at literary festivals both in Australia and overseas and has a regular program on 3RRR interviewing children’s authors and industry professionals. She is a passionate ambassador for the 100 Story Building creative writing centre for marginalized youth and has mentored many emerging writers and illustrators. Recently, she and her partner co-founded Story Peddlers, a hand-made performance tent that packs away into a custom-built bike, with the aim of bringing back the art of the roving storyteller.

Reviews

[Sonya Bright]

Even though it's book nineteen, this is the first of the Billie B Brown spinoffs I've read.

Jack's a great, sensitive character. He's the perfect match for boisterous Billie.

This instalment deals with an issue a lot of children face: having to take special classes to catch up with their peers. I think it was handled in a sensitive way - and Jack finds out that the extra classes are actually fun!

I'm looking forward to reading more of Jack's books.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love her books they're so short but so good!

I recommend this book to EVERYONE
It has
a lot of detail and interesting stories i also recommend Billie b. Brown books too

[Savannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I had no idea what was going on because my brother was reading it and adding things and taking things out so I was confused.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

19 - Sally Rippin, “Hey Jack! The Extra-Special Group” (Richmond, Victoria, Aust: Hardie Grant Egmont, 2015).

Jack has to leave his class to go to the special spelling group. Not everyone has to go. What if the other kids make fun of him?
“Finally the bell goes. At last! Jack thinks. He breathes out a big hot puff of air.” (p4)
“Sometimes things turn out much better than Jack thinks they will.” (p43)