The 156-Storey Treehouse (#12) by Andy Griffiths

25 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

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

Published: 6 September 2022 (print)/6 September 2022 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher:  Pan Macmillan Australia /Macmillan Australia Audio
Pages: 300/ 1 hr and 25 mins
Narrator: Stig Wemyss
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★  – 3.5 Stars

Andy and Terry are celebrating Christmas in their 156-storey treehouse which now has 13 new storeys, including an aquarium wonderland, a wishing well, a world record breaking level, a TV quiz show hosted by Quizzy the quizzical quizbot, a lost property office, a lost sausage office, a super-stinky stuff level and the amazing mind-reading sandwich-making machine, which makes the perfect amazing sandwich for you – every single time!Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!

I had to reread this because I couldn’t remember what happened in it, I didn’t even remember there begin a Christmas themed book. Having finished it I realised why – nothing actually happens.

In books where ten things can happen in quick succession or there are a few things that have big impacts, this was a curious Treehouse story. There is a snowman, Santa clones, and Christmas… but not much else. There is use of previous storeys, albeit briefly, which I liked, but only a fleeting use of a new level. Overall it was a lacklustre book with a dull adventure.

What I thought was going to be the antagonist – the snowman – comes and goes fast enough that he has no real impact on the story. There is no real drama or stakes, the rest of the book is only a celebration of Christmas, even if it is a strange treehouse Christmas.

It is still a classic Treehouse book, and certainly not the only mediocre one in the series. The tropes and antics the pair get up to are still present, and Jill gets involved which I always enjoy. I love that Andy and Terry can invent things without any need for explanation. Expanding stockings can be created, extra storeys with unrealistic or illogical components can come to fruition without needing to explain how. This is how you have the fun storeys like cloning levels, or remembering booths, even chocolate waterfalls don’t get explanations of how it works. Which is why this series works. It’s magical but realistic in its own weird way. No one can fly, but you can ask for a jetpack from Santa or use a flying cat to get around.

My original rating was four, this time was three, so I’m splitting it to 3.5. I’m not sure why I enjoyed it more the first time, maybe the mood was better but it will have to do.

You can purchase The 156-Storey Treehouse via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Dymocks

 Angus and Robinson | Blackwell’s

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Long Lost Review: The 143-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths

14 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

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

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all. 

Published: 1 October 2021 (print)/19 October 2021 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher:  Pan Macmillan Australia /Macmillan Australia Audio
Pages: 304/ 1 hr and 40 mins
Narrator: Stig Wemyss
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Andy and Terry’s treehouse now has 13 new storeys, including a word-o-matic (it knows every word in the whole world!); a recycling depot; a wrecking ball; a deep, dark cave with a real live, fire-breathing dragon; a too-hard basket; a SUPER BIG STUFF storey; a baked-bean geyser (it erupts on the hour, every hour); a Ye Olde Worlde Historical Village; a fish milkshake level (the penguins love them!); a complaining room; a spooky graveyard (where it’s always midnight, even in the middle of the day); a toffee apple orchard guarded by a kind scarecrow; and a camping ground where you can have a nice, relaxing camping holiday – unless you get caught by hobyahs, put in a bag and poked with a stick, that is … Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!

As I was organising my review of the 169 Storey Treehouse I realised I skipped reviewing a few of the Treehouse books. I am here to start rectifying that today, I found the lovely notes I wrote when I read it in 2022 so I can at least remember what it was about.

This is Treehouse book number eleven. It doesn’t feel like there have been eleven, each one is fresh and engaging despite being formulaic. They are fun, wacky, humourous, and have unique antics that always seem to make sense in the story even if they make no sense.

Unlike some previous books, there is an actual storyline this time around instead of the plot consisting of jumping through random rooms and floors in the treehouse. There are references to old books and previous levels which doesn’t always happen, and given there are 143 levels it makes sense you could easily reuse a room.

Wemyss does an amazing job once more with the audiobook. It’s always a delight listening to him not only do the narration but also the side dialogue as he describes the illustrations and quirky remarks you miss out on with the audio format. The chatter of the little creatures running around the place are fun to listen to and it fits in well with the overall tone of the story.

I still enjoy the recap at the end of the book as they write down their adventure for their book. I know in the past I disliked the formula sometimes but I like the reliability of it, especially given the middle bits are always so different. I think when the story in the middle is done well, and there is a structure of sorts and isn’t wacky event after wacky event, it’s a better book.

Griffiths makes each book fresh and new and by now we are well aware of Terry and Andy’s dynamic so you know how each character behaves and how they influence a story. It is still easy enough to jump into this series wherever you first find it because they are easily a standalone despite the references to their past works. Story wise it makes no difference which adds to the timeless charm of the series.

You can purchase The 143-Storey Treehouse via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Dymocks

 Angus and Robinson | Blackwell’s

 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