Kids into books - Comes Naturally

This weeks title - Comes Naturally

Author: David Hill

Illustrator: Trevor Pye

Publisher: Mallinson Rendel, $15.95

Age group: 9-12 years


Mr Bremner stroked her cheek. 'You'd grumble if you didn't have one.'

Jake knew his dad was upset. He was surprised how choked up he felt, too. Something had been alive a minute before. Then they'd killed it.

Quarter of an hour later, after dropping Jake's dad at his office, Mrs Bremner stopped by the path winding down to Back Beach.

'Back about half-eleven, love.' She forced a smile. 'Aunty Clarice says they've got a real old heap with fake leopard fur on the dashboard. Should be worth a look.'

Jake pictured the dented hubcaps and bent radio aerials from Aunty Clarice's car-wrecker's yard that his mum had used in her last sculpture exhibition. Ruth Rivers in the Advocate had called it a garage sale, not an art sale. He tucked his surfboard under his arm, followed the fence around the bushy, reedy swamp beside the road, and headed down to the sand.

The waves were good, and there weren't many people. The tall figure of Matt Pene paddled out through the foam several metres along.

Jake caught a few swells, but he wasn't concentrating. He kept seeing the bird twisting away from the car. He heard the smack as it hit the side mirror.


Tomorrow: Surfing the air