The 104-Storey Treehouse (#8) by Andy Griffiths

31 May 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Junior Fiction, Treehouse Series Tags: , , ,

Published: 10th July 2018 Goodreads badge
Publisher: Macmillan Australia
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Genre: Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Join Andy and Terry in their wonderfully wild and wacky 104-storey treehouse. You can throw some refrigerators, make some money with the money-making machine (or honey if you’d prefer-it makes that too), climb the never-ending staircase, have a bunfight, deposit some burps in the burp bank, get totally tangled up in the tangled-up level, or just take some time out and relax in the peaceful sunny meadow full of buttercups, butterflies and bluebirds.

Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!

Andy and Terry are back with another 13 levels and a whole extra set of antics. The first chapter once again introduces us to the new rooms and features in the treehouse such as the tangled up level, the two million dollar shop, the never ending staircase and the stupid hat level to name a few. There is also a small issue of Andy’s sore tooth that needs addressing.

I enjoyed how the story connected really well – they weren’t separate, vaguely connected adventures, instead each chapter was a result of the previous one and each antic came as a cause or solution to another chapter.

Jill’s back too which is wonderful. Jill books are the best books. I liked how Jill’s animal proficiency came in handy once more; her sensible reasoning balancing out the boys and their wild ideas.

One thing I noticed is there seemed to be more structure to this story than others. It may just be I really liked how each chapter connected and was woven into the main storyline but I found every part of this fun and creative.

Overall it was incredibly funny, not too many overly simple jokes for the sake of it, and I say this when there are literally pages of bad jokes and pun at the end of the book but that is a different and a delight on its own.

You can purchase The 104-Storey Treehouse via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Angus and Robinson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

The 130-Storey Treehouse (#10) by Andy Griffiths

03 May 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Junior Fiction, Treehouse Series Tags: , , , ,

Published: 20th October 2020 Goodreads badge
Publisher: Pan Australia
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Genre: Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Andy and Terry have added 13 new levels to their treehouse and now it’s even more out of this world than before! There’s a soap bubble blaster, a GRABINATOR (it can grab anything from anywhere at any time), a time-wasting level, a toilet paper factory (because you can never have too much toilet paper), a super long legs level, an extra-terrestrial observation centre and the best bookshop-in-a-treehouse-in-a-tree-in-a-forest-in-a-book in the whole world!

After nine previous incarnations of this book it’s always interesting to see how the story never gets old despite the fact it is so formulaic. Having said that though, with 13 new storeys there are a myriad of new adventures waiting to be had, and while the previous 117 storeys go largely forgotten each time, it’s always a curious endeavour to see what Andy and Terry (and Jill when she’s involved  – which is never enough in my opinion #MoreJillContent) get up to.

With so many wild adventures possible, it’s always a nice change to have a simpler story that doesn’t involve too much chaos. This is one of those stories and it was a refreshing change, Griffiths balances his books out well so the series includes both styles so you don’t get burnt out on too much activity but there aren’t too many simpler and less action filled ones either.

As much as I enjoy the antic of Andy and Terry and the incredible complex and creative ways Griffiths weaves together all the various levels and chaos of the treehouse into a story, it is also nice when the adventures can be exciting without being busy. This is a fantastic story filled with excitement, mystery and suspense but it’s linear in a way some of the previous stories are not. There’s action and consequence but without things coming in from left field all the time steering the story off course – which have their place and are incredibly fun – but I did notice this had more of a straight line story. There’s journeys into space, enjoyment in a time wasting level, and a not so subtle reference about toilet paper which are only part of the fun.

I’ve done a lot of the previous books as audios but this one was a paperback and it was nice seeing Denton’s illustrations again. The tiny details and the small friends that live and hang out in the treehouse alongside Andy and Terry are fun to look at as they embark on their own antics and getting to visualise the various storeys and what they involve is wonderful.

You certainly do not have to have read the previous books in order to enjoy the story, which goes for all of the books in the series. Part of the formula is that Andy introduces everyone and the treehouse each book so every time can be someone’s first time. Despite having this structure to work around it’s still fun to marvel at how creative the story can be in-between, even when defying physics and logic, laws of space and time or general sensibilities.

You can purchase The 130-Storey Treehouse via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

The 117-Storey Treehouse (#9) by Andy Griffiths

04 Feb 2020 1 Comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Junior Fiction, Treehouse Series Tags: , , , , , ,

Published: 23rd July 2019 (print)/23 July 2019 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher:  Pan Macmillan Australia /Macmillan Australia Audio
Pages: 384/1 hr and 37 mins
Narrator: Stig Wemyss
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★  ★  – 4 Stars

Andy and Terry live in a 117-story treehouse. (It used to be a 104-story treehouse, but it just keeps growing!) It now has a pyjama-party room, a water-ski park filled with flesh-eating piranhas, an Underpants Museum, a giant-fighting-robot arena, and the Door of Doom (don’t open it or you’ll be COMPLETELY and UTTERLY DOOMED!).

For as long as Andy and Terry have been writing books together, Andy has always been the narrator and Terry has always been the illustrator. But when Terry tries to prove that he can narrate as well as draw, the story goes completely out of control and the Story Police arrive to arrest the whole treehouse team for crimes against storytelling! Andy, Terry and Jill go on the run, but how long can they evade the Story Police and stay out of Story Jail?

There are so many things to love in this new Treehouse adventure. One thing I quite enjoyed was Storytelling Gaol and the Story Police who arrest you for lazy storytelling like ending a story with “It was all a dream”. A great practice. Crimes against good and proper storytelling should be openly encouraged. But that isn’t the only fun addition to the treehouse. With 13 new storeys there are fun rooms like the Miniature Pony room, the Waiting Room, the Underpants Museum room, and many more.

The usual charm of the Treehouse series is back: the way Andy addresses the reader/listener, the reoccurring characters like Mr Big Nose and the impossible book deadlines, and Jill is there with her logic and sensible answers, but she is also there have crazy fun with the boys as well.

There is also a clear formula to these stories which surprisingly doesn’t get old. It treats each book like the first book you’ve read of Griffiths and Denton. Even going through the treehouse introduction again is fun because we get to explore the new rooms and see Denton illustrations. Even with the audiobook Wemyss makes this fun because of his fun voices so you can imagine these rooms, much like radio dramas with sound effects and different voices commenting on random aspects and features.

This time around Terry wants to try his hand at narrating because “illustrators can narrate too!” which kick starts the story and also reveals that in the Terry/Andy universe there are similar authors to our world but not quite. There’s Looney Tunes logic, a touch of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and the absurdity and strangeness results in a lot of hilarity and you can’t help but laugh.

I love the meta nature of this particular adventure because I feel like Griffiths included some of his own criticisms he’s seen, if not, it is a great self-reflection on some of the plots in this series. All in good faith though and always filled with humour.

I’ve started looking forward to experiencing these books as audios because I adore Wemyss’s narration and I will sacrifice Denton’s illustrations because the story is just as entertaining. While I know Denton does amazing work, the audiobook has done the book justice and the creativity to be able to interpret those drawings into sound is quite wonderful.

You can purchase The 117-Storey Treehouse via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Book Depository

Booktopia | Angus and Robertson | Fishpond

Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Wordery | Publisher

The 91-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths

17 Sep 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Treehouse Series Tags: , , ,

Published: 8th August 2017Goodreads badge
Publisher:  Pan Macmillan Australia
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Genre: Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Join Andy and Terry in their ridiculous 91-storey treehouse! Go for a spin in the world’s most powerful whirlpool, take a ride in a submarine sandwich, get marooned on a desert island, hang out in a giant spider web, visit the fortune teller’s tent to get your fortune told by Madame Know-it-all and decide whether or not to push the mysterious big red button. Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!

This might be up there as one of my favourites of the Treehouse books. It’s silly, but clever, filled with adventure and you can’t help but love these characters as they go on these wild adventures and get into all kinds of strife.

Griffiths’ talent is that one thing blends so well into another as he’s telling the story. Madam Know-it-all leads into the Big Button which gives us a hint at the story to come as Andy and Terry must scramble to make sense of the clues and cryptic answers. I also love how Griffiths links together all of the new storeys and they get to become part of the new adventure and not just an unseen addition.

Andy and Terry go on another adventure in this book with Mr Big Nose’s grandchildren in tow. There are wonderful references in this book to other pop culture things such as Narnia, The Beatles, and 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, all with a delightful twist that suit the Andy and Terry universe. I loved the humour that comes through in both the writing and the illustrations and the balance between serious and silly is great, you know these boys can get into strife without it ever getting too serious, but serious enough that it’s engaging and adventurous.

With these wonderful adventures are also the brilliant accompaniment of Denton’s illustrations. Depending on the story, Denton’s illustrations can be simple or incredibly complicated. This is one of those great times because the amount of detail Denton has put into these drawings is amazing.  There are some wonderfully clever drawings as Andy and Terry try to wrangle the grandchildren on their myriad of adventures through the many exciting new storeys filled with tiny surprises for the keen eyed reader.

These books are quirky and funny and the more you read the more they grow on you. It will be interesting to see how high Griffiths and Denton plan to take this, because surely they are going to run out of tree eventually. Until then I will look forward to the continuing antics of Andy and Terry.

You can purchase The 91-Storey Treehouse via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Book Depository

Booktopia | Angus and Robertson | Fishpond

Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Wordery | Publisher

The 65-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths

11 Sep 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Audiobook, Junior Fiction, Treehouse Series Tags: , , , ,

Published: 12 August 2015 (print)/12 August 2015 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher:  Pan Macmillan Australia /Bolinda Audio
Pages: 384/2 Hours 13 mins
Narrator: Stig Wemyss
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

Andy and Terry’s amazing 65-Storey Treehouse now has a pet-grooming salon, a birthday room where it’s always your birthday (even when it’s not), a room full of exploding eyeballs, a lollipop shop, a quicksand pit, an ant farm, a time machine and Tree-NN: a 24-hour-a-day TV news centre keeping you up to date with all the latest treehouse news, current events and gossip. Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!

With a touch of Jack and the Beanstalk, time travel and the film Them! it’s a curious adventure Andy and Terry go on. Jill comes in with her logic and reason to bring the boys into line and solve their problems all of which combine to be a pretty normal day in the treehouse.

In this new adventure you learn new words, get to travel through history in a wheelie bin, albeit a smidge inaccurately, but it is fun. TreeNN is a fun addition as well, ending chapters with something different. I liked the break in formula in this one, no book talk, instead we need a building inspection from Inspector Bubblewrap. This prompts the time travel and all sorts of mishaps as they try to travel back 6.5 years and end up at all different points through history.

Admittedly, I couldn’t get into this story as easily as the others. I liked the diversion from the normal structure because that can be boring after a while. It was fun but not as engaging as the previous stories. I also got a visual copy in the end because while Wemyss has done a brilliant job in the past to compensate, I needed Denton’s illustrations this time to appreciate some of the jokes and references.

The Treehouse series continues to grow and change with each book and the creativity and inventiveness of Griffiths and Denton is amazing. The jokes are clever and the illustrations are so detailed that there is always something to discover in them. The two make a perfect team and while I didn’t love this storey as much as previous storeys, I look forward to seeing what the next storey in the treehouse has to offer.

You can purchase The 65-Storey Treehouse via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Book Depository

Booktopia | Angus and Robertson | Fishpond

Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Wordery | Publisher

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