western wildcats series

#1... Soccer's Off children's fiction, paperback, 160 pg, ISBN 0733612156
The Western Wildcats might appear to be a bunch of losers, but Paul and Eric Underwood's father has come up with the formula for making them winners - they've got to start acting Brazilian. The Wildcats are in his hands, and after the barbecue he puts on they can only pray he coaches better than he cooks.

reviews by other people
Lixang from http://www.abc.net.au/splatt/review/s118580.htm said:
" 'Soccer's Off' isn't just for soccer enthusiasts. It has a huge amount of dialogue in it to make any social kid happy and John Larkin has really made the characters in the book come to life. It has lots of gags not all of which will make you laugh, but they're entertaining anyway.
The story is about a young soccer team which is training for a new season of soccer. They also have a new coach nicknamed 'the Gaffer'. The Wildcats team includes Nuke, Tangles, Smokin, Own-goal, Throw-in, Splinters, Ally Mcbeal, Maximum and Wedgie. All the team try to recruit some new players and find the Gaffer trying to teach them how to play Brazilian. You can judge if they succeed or not.
Lots of entertainment and humour. This book is hanging just over the cliff of crazy. Rating 4/5 - one short because of the sarcastic areas not being funny. Generally, a good all round book."

Jonah Hawke from http://www.abc.net.au/splatt/review/s118580.htm said:
"I enjoyed the first book because of its general humour, characters and reading their profiles. It's pretty good apart from the wierd soccer and cricket terms."

#2... Western Wildcats Suck children's fiction, paperback, 160 pg, ISBN 0733612164
The Western Wildcats are in trouble - their goalkeeper Smokin always wanders away in the middle of the game, Thrown- in's clearances are adding to the rings around Saturn and Own-goal keeps scoring hat-tricks for the opposing team. Is it any wonder that people are saying the Western Wildcats suck?

reviews by other people
STAS from http://www.abc.net.au/splatt/review/s138488.htm said:
The Western Wildcats Suck was a fair read. To tell you the truth I didn't totally enjoy it. The books writing style does not make you get hooked on the book so much that you cannot put it down. It was written in a light- hearted and sarcastic manner, which is not necessarily that bad, but it does not add enough depth to the story. There is a lot of witticism, maybe even too much. Every book should have a moral or purpose to it, but unfortunately this one didn't have one. The Western Wildcats Suck is fairly short.
This book is all about soccer (which I personally love), but people who don't know anything about this sport will also enjoy the book as much as hardcore soccer fans.
The plot is about a young team, which is very good (at scoring own-goals). Their coach is nicknamed 'The Gaffer'. The Wildcats players include Nuke, Tangles, Smokin' (their goal keeper who likes to suddenly wander off in the middle of the match), Throw-in, Own-goal, Splinters, Maximum, Ally McBeal and Wedgie. I think that it is aimed at a younger level than mine. Overall, The Western Wildcats Suck is an entertaining but not an educational or worthwhile read, which is suitable for children from the age group of 8 to 11 years. This is the type of novel, which you will only read while you are waiting for the bus, train etc.

#3... Gazza's Gone children's fiction, paperback, 144 pg, ISBN 0733612172
When the Wildcats reluctantly take on Peta 'Gazza' Gascoigne to make up their team's numbers, they quickly discover she's the best footballer they've got! But then Gazza and her mother suddenly disappear - they have been deported back to England for overstaying their visa.

reviews by other people
Benian from http://www.abc.net.au/splatt/review/s152175.htm said:
"Gazza's Gone is about Gazza and her soccer team, the Western Wildcats. It begins when Splinters, a player in the Western Wildcats, is looking for a new wife for his dad. He has Gazza's mum in mind. But then when Gazza and her mum get deported, Splinters and the Wildcats need to get them back.
The characters in the book are confusing because they switch between the real and nicknames. It is a bit annoying having to go to the back to look at the player profiles to look the names up. Aside from this, the book shows the true personalities of the characters and their intentions.
The language used is very simple and would probably suit a younger audience. It is also very short and simple to understand.
I quite enjoyed this book and thought it kept me interested. The targeted audience was probably from 10-12 range and so I did not really fit in to that.
This especially shows in the length and the type of wording used. Also, I found it a bit unrealistic with the children going around doing things only an adult would do. For example, eating four pies in the morning or buying airfares without anyone knowing.
Overall, it was a good book for a short read or for all the soccer fans out there."

#4... Armitage Shanks and the Footballer's Bones children's fiction, paperback, 144 pg, ISBN 0733612180
The Wildcats are in trouble again! Down on the ground, there's got to be some way of raising funds, and their coach comes up with health food bars. Only trouble is, they're inedible, and whoever sells the most gets an all-expenses-paid trip to Canberra.

reviews by other people
Benjamin from http://www.abc.net.au/splatt/review/s200817.htm said:
"The Wildcats are in a tight position when they are short in numbers to play against the A's. This is how Armitage Shanks and the Footballer's Bones begins.
This book is number 4 in a series by Jonh Larkin and is about a soccer team who are the "worst in the Universe". The team are the main characters in the story and they decide they need help in the form of a coach to improve their soccer skills. Then they discover that Paddy Doyle, the old drunk that lives next door to the field, once played in an FA cup final. He becomes the coach but then doesen't turn up for the big game...
I give this book a rating 3/5 - as I found it a bit confusing. May be better for a slightly older age group than mine - 12 to 15 years."

beckham #5... David Beckham, Eat This children's fiction, paperback
The Wildcats want to raise money by trying for the Guinness Book of Records marathon soccer match so they can buy a special machine from the States to save Tangles's life, but when there's a chance of them going to Wembley, their team loyalty takes a beat

#6... Wembley Wobblers children's fiction, paperback, 160 pg, ISBN 0733614019
The Wildcats get their chance to play at the reopening of Wembley Stadium and are excited until they realise that, as Australians, they are about to contend with a bit of colonial payback. But the authorities haven't counted on the pride that goes with pulling on a Wildcat's jersey.

reviews by other people
Dale from
http://www.goldcreek.act.edu.au/yara/pages/reviews/archive/r_western_wildcats_6.htm said:
"This book is the 6th book in the Western Wildcats series by John Larkin and is one of the best sports books I have ever read. Wembley Wobblers is about the Western Wildcats and the story teller Splinter who plays as a sub for the Wildcats with the rest of the team Gazza, Armitage, Psycho, Giggsie, Tangles, Own-goal, Smoking, Throw-in, Maximum, Wedgie, Oscar, Fred-legs and The Gaffer. Splinter enters a comp for one team to win a trip to England (Pommy land) and play at Wembley stadium against the English schoolboys. They are the best under 14’s team in England.
When the team arrived they realised why they had won the comp: not because their team was the best in the comp or by chance but the complete opposite to that, they had won because their team was the worst in the comp. They would lose pathetically and humiliate themselves and the rest of Australia in front of thousands of spectators and the Queen.
I would recommend this book for any soccer lover or any one who likes to read good sports books. It had a great story line. I recommend this book for 9-14 years and I give it a 9 out of 10."

Amanda from
http://www.goldcreek.act.edu.au/yara/pages/reviews/archive/r_western_wildcats_6.htm said:
"This book is about an Australian boys soccer team that wins a competition to play an English team in front of the Queen at Wembly Stadium in London. The Australian team, the Western Wildcats, are not very good, and lose most of their games, but occasionally they manage to stick together and win one.
This was a book aimed at boys and soccer fans, and if I had been either of these I think I would have liked Wembly Wobblers better than I did. It was okay, and funny in parts, but I think it would make more sense to boys who play soccer."

john larkin