Something Terrible: Tim Tie-Your-Shoelaces
Shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards, Younger Readers
Goosebumps meets The Treehouse in this wonderful first instalment of a hilarious new series, Something Terrible.
Tim Mulligan lives at 25 Rufus Street. You might be surprised to know that is his name, because most people think his name is Tim Tie-your-shoelaces. But no matter how many people tell him, or how often, Tim never ties his shoelaces.
One morning, just as Tim was leaving for school, his mum called, ‘Tim! Tie your shoelaces. Something terrible could happen!’
This is the story of the something terrible that did.
Sally Barton weaves a tale of mayhem, mess and beasties, in this flip-flappin’ street-slappin’ first installment of the terrible things that happen in Rufus Street.
Creators
Sally Barton was at the age of six when she first took a book from the library, from then on words and stories became an important part of her life. She not only spends her days creating fictional worlds for both adults and children, but she also passes this love and knowledge on to her students as a tutor for children with learning differences. Sally previously worked for the police but was happiest at her job in a public library while she finished her degree in Legal Studies. Sally enjoys teaching and travelling but writing is her first love. Sally was honoured to win the Writers Unleashed Picture Book Competition in 2022 with Goodnight Sheep.
Reviews
this fast-paced, laugh-out-loud adventure is packed with messy mayhem, page-turning tension and just the right amount of gross-out fun
Books + Publishing
This wonderfully illustrated book for children aged 7-9 is very funny and yet has a wonderful underlying message about pollution. Author Sally Barton and illustrator Christopher Nielsen also produced a book about the environment and the varied waste that finds its way into our drains and sewers.
Trevor Cairney
Paul Jennings and The Treehouse, the SOMETHING TERRIBLE SERIES is a collection that budding readers can sink their teeth into. What I particularly liked was the combination of simple narrative structure and rich language – the pacing will keep newly independent readers hooked and the exquisite sensory imagery will have their minds (and vocabulary!) broadened. And, of course, the illustrations perfectly capture integral parts of the plot and allow kids to bridge the ‘word to visual meaning’ gap. I envision this series becoming a staple for kids who want to move away from anthropomorphic stories.
idreamofallthebooks via instagram
Something Terrible: Tim Tie-Your-Shoelaces! #1 is the first in a new series, and will surely hook it’s young readers. Christopher Nielsen adds laugh-out-loud creatures and objects to the underground wonderland. His storytelling skills work in perfect partnership with Sally Barton, and they are both award winders in their own right. This is a book that I highly recommend.
Susan Joy Brodie Gully Reviews
Of all the series published for young, emerging readers every now and then one stands out and you know it is going to be a favourite. To my mind, this is one of those. Ordinary, relatable kids, the type of action that dares adults to read it aloud, humour and clever, appealing physical design all make for an engaging read that is going to draw in even the most reluctant reader, particularly if they are given the job of reading one and deciding whether the rest of the series will be worth purchasing! And of course, kids could also be invited to think about what their name would be – mine would probably be Barbara Bite-your-Tongue – and then creating their own story about the Something Terrible that might happen to them…
The Bottom Shelf
