Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Archie's Adventures
    Archie's Adventures
    Archie's Adventures
    Ebook183 pages2 hours

    Archie's Adventures

    By Leonie Thorpe

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook


    A delightful, funny and refreshing new chapter book for younger readers aged 8-10 years, with the side-splitting adventures and misadventures of young Archie Roach. Archie is new in town, trying to find his feet (literally) and live down his gory reputation at his last school for the bloodiest bonepiercingest leg fracture in the history of the world. trying to make new friends is a bit of a struggle, but he manages to do it, despite having the mingiest skinflint in the history of the world for a mum and a dad who is convinced that Roachs are destined to be useless at everything. When Archie meets up with the town's mysterious maggot smuggler his life changes for the better - and his wacky adventures will be a draw card for young readers, boys in particular. Comparable to Joy Cowley's much-loved Wild West series, this exciting new writer for junior readers brings us the first of many adventures with Archie.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers Australia
    Release dateJan 31, 2010
    ISBN9780730400448
    Archie's Adventures
    Author

    Leonie Thorpe

    Leonie Thorpe wrote the Archie’s series and the critically acclaimed Sheep on the Fourth Floor. Here she moves into the YA level with panache.

    Related to Archie's Adventures

    Related ebooks

    Children's For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Red-Tailed Hawk

      Apr 4, 2023

      The spring of 1954 in the mountains of East Tennessee brought forth a renewal of life. I was 12 years old and given the responsibility of watching over a brood of newly hatched chicks. They were very important to our family. Once grown, we could eat,

      4 min read

    • Article

      Good Girl and Gullies

      Nov 1, 2019

      Good Girl and Gullies
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Black Dog Of Finca Vigia

      Jul 10, 2020

      The Black Dog Of Finca Vigia
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Magic Book

      May 3, 2023

      The Magic Book
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Education of Mrs. R.

      Sep 6, 2022

      An adolescent shriek woke her. Cockerels, she thought, cockerels, with a wry twist to the word. She lay in the dark listening. There was no use in covering her head; the screaming still came through. The soloist was suddenly submerged in the chorus.

      13 min read

    • Article

      “Really?”

      Jun 2, 2022

      “Really?”
      6 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Nov 11, 2021

      Letters
      6 min read

    • Article

      THE WOLF & THE FOX

      Jul 27, 2018

      A wolf and a fox once lived together. The fox, who was the weaker of the two, had to do all the hard work, which made him anxious to leave his companion. One day, passing through a wood, the wolf said, ‘Red-fox, get me something to eat, or I shall ea

      3 min read

    • Article

      Squirrels Go Up In Smoke

      Jun 30, 2021

      Squirrels Go Up In Smoke
      4 min read

    • Article

      Country Diary

      Apr 29, 2020

      Country Diary
      3 min read

    • Article

      Boy Meets Grill

      Apr 27, 2021

      Boy Meets Grill
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Brush With History

      Dec 12, 2019

      SITTING by a hedgerow last month, glugging down a variety of sworn-by secret recipes from hipflasks, conversation swayed to hunting inheritances. From cloak-and-dagger gin concoctions to inherited whips, then to furrier memorabilia in the shape of pa

      3 min read

    • Article

      WINNERS APRIL 2023 STORY CONTEST Pet

      Sep 1, 2023

      Danah Jang, age 10Westlake, OH Finn, the Goat Picasso I had a tawny-colored goat named Finn. I raised him after finding him in the fields. He was in poor condition, calling out with miserable, piercing wails. The heart-melting scene convinced me to

      9 min read

    • Article

      Otterly Wonderful

      May 25, 2022

      Otterly Wonderful
      5 min read

    • Article

      Season Of Goodwill? (You Might Need It)

      Nov 8, 2023

      CHRISTMAS is on the way and those of us with parrots have a lot extra to decide in the way of activities, extra food, presents, guests and so on. My first two parrots, the African greys Artha and Casper, taught me far more than I taught them. Althoug

      4 min read

    • Article

      Never A Dull Moment

      Mar 17, 2023

      Never A Dull Moment
      7 min read

    • Article

      An Elephant On My Stoep

      Sep 9, 2022

      An Elephant On My Stoep
      9 min read

    • Article

      Sweet Sorrow

      Aug 19, 2019

      Sweet Sorrow
      8 min read

    • Article

      Closure

      Jan 20, 2020

      Closure
      8 min read

    • Article

      Alien Zoo News From The Cryptozoological Garden

      Oct 6, 2022

      It’s been quite a while since I last learned of a hitherto unreported encounter with a genuine winged cat, i.e. one whose ‘wings’ consist of stretchable extensions of furry skin (due to a rare genetically induced condition called feline cutaneous ast

      4 min read

    • Article

      Hunter’s Paradox

      Aug 26, 2020

      Hunter’s Paradox
      4 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Sep 1, 2022

      First prize 10 and under Tang Li, age 9 Palmetto Bay, FL My name is Anisa. I was in Hawaii on vacation. I enjoyed sipping refreshing drinks, overlooking the turquoise ocean, and dancing with others, before I overheard that the priceless Fire Ring wa

      10 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2020

      Ivy Lugbill, age 8 Indianapolis, IN I was so excited! My dad and I were going camping! After we packed all our stuff, my dad said, “Hop in!” I grabbed the paper towel roll binoculars I had been making and jumped into the car. It was a really . . . re

      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Archie's Adventures

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Archie's Adventures - Leonie Thorpe

      1

      A light gust of wind nudged a yellow supermarket bag along the wooden wharf. The bag had begun its journey at the Collerden Supermarket, carrying two tins of cat food, a jar of Marmite and a packet of Weet-Bix to the home of Police Constable Wang. From there it carried two kilos of freshly dug potatoes to the home of Mr Vladimir Kaziev, the local town mayor. The plastic bag remained in the bag dispenser at the Kaziev household for nearly six months before being pocketed by Mrs Kaziev as she walked the family dog, Kaspar. However, it had dropped from her pocket, escaping its fate as a pooper scooper, and made its way into a tangle of bushes beside the Collerden Marine Engineering workshop, near the fishing wharf. Ten days later, a gust of wind tore it from the bushes and now it wafted gently along the splintered wharf, past the fishing boats, towards a skinny red-headed boy called Archie Roach. Archie watched as the bag floated over the edge of the wharf into the sea. It landed near the boat he had been watching—a fishing boat called Priscilla. There was no sign of the legendary, one-eyed, child-hating Captain Maggot who supposedly lived aboard. Archie suspected he was only a silly school rumour, but still he was reluctant to walk past the boat.

      Archie cursed the dog he was chasing. He could see it in the near distance, its dirty white tail paused momentarily as it sniffed a clump of weeds. The stupid thing didn’t even belong to him. Its owner, and Archie’s next-door neighbour, Mrs Sage, hadn’t been able to walk it since she’d had her toe operation.

      The dog had started visiting the Roach backyard every day. Archie’s mother didn’t like dogs. Archie’s mother didn’t like a lot of things, but dogs she disliked with great intensity. ‘Dirty, useless, noisy, hair-shedding, expensive, stinking creatures,’ she would remind Archie whenever she suspected he had been playing with it.

      Archie didn’t know why Mrs Sage called her dog Missy, when it plainly wasn’t female. Archie had secretly renamed it Frank, after a clever dog in a book he’d been given last year for his eleventh birthday. Now here he was chasing the scatty creature again. If the dog control officer impounded it again he doubted Mrs Sage could afford to bail it.

      Having sniffed and lifted its leg over the weeds, Frank’s tail began wagging and he trotted further away, attracted by the sounds and smells coming from the busy cargo wharf. If the dog slipped through the hole in the perimeter fence, Archie was worried it would be flattened by the forklifts and trucks that roared back and forth.

      ‘FRANK!…FRANK!…COME HERE!’

      The dog stopped and looked around blankly. Wagging his tail, he edged further away.

      ‘FRAAAAAAAAAANK!’ Archie yelled.

      A movement out of the corner of his eye made Archie freeze. A man had emerged from the cabin ofPriscilla and was limping heavily along the deck, directly in front of Archie. The man was tall and broad with a big belly stretching his tattered black jersey. A black knitted hat covered his head, and a short grey-black beard covered his chin. Archie’s stomach heaved when the man got closer—there was a deep, dark pit where the man’s left eye ought to be.

      Archie’s brain screamed at him to run, but he couldn’t leave Frank behind.

      The gruesome fisherman lurched closer to the bow, glaring and uttering strange sounds.

      ‘Wha’?…Wha’?…WHA’?’

      He stopped at the bow and lifted his arms towards Archie.

      ‘Wha’?’ he demanded. ‘You call me outta ma sleep and now just stand there and gawp?’ He sounded Scottish, like Mrs Ferguson, a teacher at Archie’s old school. The man stood glaring down at Archie. Suddenly his frown lightened and he held a hand up to his left eye.

      ‘Ah,’ he mumbled, then felt around his neck and grasped a piece of elastic. Fumbling, he positioned a black patch neatly over the hole in his face.

      ‘Aye, it’s a bit of a shocker. But ye did wake us up. Now, whaddya want, laddie?’

      Archie finally found his voice.

      ‘Sorry,’ he croaked. ‘I didn’t mean to wake you up.’

      ‘Well ye did, so spit it out and fast lad, so’s I can get back to me afternoon kip.’

      ‘I don’t want anything,’ said Archie, wondering what the man was talking about.

      ‘You mean to say, you wake us up yelling Frank! and now I’m here and you’ve changed yer mind? Are ye all right in the head, son, or wha’?’

      Archie suddenly understood.

      ‘No, no,’ he said. ‘I was yelling to a dog called Frank. Not you.’

      Frank’s good eye regarded Archie sceptically. ‘You’re not havin’ yerself a wee schoolboy prank are ye son, because if ye are by God I’ll grab ye by yer poxy yellow skivvy and—’

      ‘No, no!’ Archie shook his head frantically. ‘Look.’ He pointed down the wharf towards the perimeter fence.

      Frank’s good eye squinted into the distance.

      By now Frank the dog had squeezed through the fence into the cargo wharf and was now wandering amongst the heavy machinery.

      ‘Holy hootin’ catfish!’ said Frank. ‘The blighter’ll get itself killed in there. Listen, laddie, shoutin’s no good at this distance, yer gonna have to whistle.’

      Archie squirmed, his face flushing. How could he tell this weird fisherman that he wasn’t very good at anything? Couldn’t catch, couldn’t throw, draw, write, do long division, sing in tune, run fast, tell a good story. He certainly couldn’t whistle. Mind you, he hadn’t tried for a few months. He had seen Kevin Kaziev, a boy from his new school, whistle with his fingers. Archie put his fingers to his mouth, as he’d seen Kevin do, and blew.

      A quiet, rasping noise came out.

      ‘Whaddye call that?’ Frank shook his head in disgust. ‘A laddie wha’ cannae whistle, it’s just not right.’ He put his thumb and finger to his lips and let out a loud clear whistle, low then high.

      Frank and Archie watched. In the distance, the dog stopped and looked around.

      ‘Quick, that forklift is heading straight for him,’ said Archie, his heart thumping.

      ‘Oh, no,’ Frank cursed.

      He whistled again, this time high, then low.

      The dog sat down.

      ‘Nooo!’ Archie groaned. ‘Save him!’

      ‘COME ON HERE, YE USELESS MONGREL!’ bellowed Frank, making Archie leap with fright.

      The dog pricked up its ears and trotted back through the fence to safety.

      ‘That dog’s no Frank,’ Frank muttered. ‘Only name for a dog that stupid is Lucky. Lucky to be alive.’

      Frank/Missy/Lucky sidled up to Archie and licked his hand.

      ‘Here, son, ye better stick it on a leash before it runs again. I got some line aboard if ye just hang aboot a minute.’

      Frank limped into the cabin and returned with a length of soft rope with a neat loop at one end.

      ‘Spliced this meself and a good job too—we McGregors are good with our hands. Mind you get it back to me pronto.’

      ‘Thanks,’ Archie said, relieved that the dog was safe. He decided the schoolkids who had nicknamed the fisherman ‘Captain Maggot’ were mean. His eye was disgusting and he was a bit of a grump, but he had saved Frank’s life.

      ‘Laddie, yer a quiet kid but ye got good manners,’ Frank McGregor said. ‘How old are ye? Nine? Ten?’

      ‘Eleven. Nearly twelve,’ said Archie, annoyed.

      ‘Ah right…Say, ye not lookin’ for work are ye?’

      ‘What kind of work?’ asked Archie, surprised anyone would think he might be useful.

      ‘Deliveries and such. I’m havin’ trouble getting aroond with me bad leg an’ all.’

      ‘I haven’t done any jobs before. I probably wouldn’t be very good at it,’ warned Archie.

      ‘Ah, any old monkey can do deliveries. I’ll pay ye well enough,’ said Frank. He paused and glanced down at his arm. Casually, he flicked something white off his sleeve. The object sailed through the air and landed at Archie’s feet. It was a maggot.

      ‘…ifyer interested…’ Frank continued.

      Archie stared with revulsion at the maggot. His mind was suddenly made up. Grateful as he was to Frank the man for saving Frank the dog, he was never going near the fishing wharf again.

      ‘I’11 have to think about it,’ he mumbled. Grabbing Frank—Lucky—Archie turned and ran home without looking back.

      2

      ‘You actually talked to old Maggot McGregor and saw him without his patch?’ Lee Phillips wasn’t sure whether to believe Archie or not. Archie had been at Collerden Primary School for nearly a whole term, but Lee didn’t know much about him. None of the other kids knew what to make of Archie either. He kept to himself, reading at lunchtime instead of joining in with them. He never played touch rugby or cricket or string ball. Still, Lee didn’t think he was the sort who could make up such a good story.

      ‘What did he look like?’ Lee asked. ‘Did you see his shrivelled eyeball?’

      ‘Nah, no eyeball. Just a hollow, sort of scarred round the edges—a kind of pit, with skin at the back of it. No eyelid or anything,’ Archie said.

      Lee screwed up his face. ‘Heinous,’ he said. ‘So it wasn’t full of maggots like everyone says?’ Lee was keen to get all the facts so he could retell the story as if he’d been there instead of Archie.

      ‘Nah, though he put his patch on pretty quick.’ Archie was reluctant to mention the maggot on Frank’s jersey. It sounded too unreal.

      ‘Some people think he wears the patch just to scare away kids,’ said Lee.

      Archie and Lee were sitting on a bench on the edge of the lower playing field. It was a warm March afternoon and the class were playing cricket. Mr Patel, their teacher, loved the game and would use any excuse to get out of the classroom and play.

      ‘Oh look, class. Joshua DeBoer has finally handed in some homework—let’s celebrate with a game of cricket.’

      ‘Ah, a new boy in the class. Let’s show him a true Collerden welcome with a game of cricket.’

      ‘This morning I had a car accident on the way to school, class. I think I need to start the day with a game of cricket.’

      Today, Collerden Primary was playing a team from Blackcliffs, the school from across the harbour. Blackcliffs had beaten Collerden three times in a row. Though most of his best players were away with the flu, Mr Patel dreamed of an upset victory. Lee was tenth batsman; Archie, the eleventh. Lee wasn’t bothered by his lowly placing. He knew he wasn’t good at sports. It wasn’t just that he was unfit because he spent hours in front of the television. There was something about playing sport that he just didn’t feel comfortable with. Watching it on TV, sure, he knew all the rules, but real-life catching and throwing and running didn’t feel right. His arms and legs just wouldn’t do what he wanted them to. He was no good at pie charts or Venn diagrams, and, just like Archie, he couldn’t sing in tune or draw. But Lee thrived on story-telling and could gather a crowd just by telling someone else’s story or passing on wild rumours.

      After nearly a term at his new school, Archie still felt lonely and invisible. He’d tried to make friends but couldn’t think of anything to say. The others weren’t nasty to him. They were just…disinterested. Archie thought he would have no problem fitting in to his new school. In Rodney’s Revenge, one of his favourite books, one of the characters, Stevie, had moved to Australia and started at a new school. At first Stevie had felt out of place and missed his old friends. He’d watched his new classmates fooling around and wished they would include him but no one did. But, on the third day he attracted the attention of one of the other boys by revealing something interesting about himself (he had dead penguins in his freezer because his mum was curator of birds at the museum). By the end of chapter seven, Stevie was one of the gang. Archie felt sure the same would happen for him. Unfortunately, his parents didn’t have interesting jobs and he hadn’t been able to think of anything interesting about himself.

      Now he was used to being alone most of the time.

      Things hadn’t always been like this. At Te Mata Primary, his old school, if you’d asked anyone in the neighbourhood if they knew Archie Roach it would be a different story.

      ‘Archie Roach? Roach…Ah, wasn’t he the kid who busted his leg playing on the jungle gym?’

      ‘Yeah,

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1