Jack’s Secret Summer by Jack Ryder is a funny, magical summer-holiday story for 7 year olds about a lonely boy and the ivy-covered house over the back wall.<\/p>\n
It’s the last day of term and everyone else is cheering. Not Jack. He knows he’s going home to an empty house.<\/p>\n
His mum left when he was three to see the world, and her postcards cover his bedroom wall. His dad works all day and most of the night looking after old animals for a very grumpy boss. So Jack makes himself a jam sandwich for supper, then makes one for Dad and leaves it on the table.<\/p>\n
Then the noisy brothers next door lean out of their window. Bruno and Rocco’s parents are going away for three whole days. No parents means no rules, and Jack is invited!<\/p>\n
What follows is gloriously disgusting. There’s a kidney bean eating contest, a bet that ends with a worm being swallowed, and the arrival of Aunt Nora. She’s come to babysit, dressed head to toe in neon, carrying about a hundred hula hoops for her world record attempt. Let’s just say the worm doesn’t stay down and her bare feet are in the wrong place.<\/p>\n
Then the boys’ spaniel, Dottie, snaps Aunt Nora’s favourite hoop. Dottie is banned from the house and tied to a tree outside, just as a big storm is on its way. The boys need somewhere safe to hide her. And there’s only one place Jack can think of. His granddad’s old empty house, the one Bruno is sure is haunted.<\/p>\n
So at midnight, three boys and a dog creep through a hidden gate. Inside, the ivy has grown over everything. There are buttercups on the stairs. And there’s a cooking pot on the stove, still steaming…<\/p>\n
The storyteller chats to your reader all the way through (and even hints at a secret hidden inside the book). The jokes are big and silly, but there’s real heart too. Jack is so quietly lonely at the start that it’s lovely to watch him get pulled into the brothers’ chaos.<\/p>\n
A couple of things to know. The boys sneak out at night and go into an empty house on their own, and the storyteller says “no way in hell” once. Jack’s mum leaving is part of his story from the very first chapter. None of it is dwelt on, but you may get questions.<\/p>\n
If the hidden world over the wall is what hooks them, try The Secret Lake next. Tom has just moved to London and is desperate to know where the old lady’s little dog keeps disappearing to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jack’s Secret Summer by Jack Ryder is a funny, magical summer-holiday story for 7 year olds about a lonely boy and the ivy-covered house over the back wall. It’s the last day of term and everyone else is cheering. Not Jack. He knows he’s going home to an empty house. His mum left when he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12495,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":9373,"lr_next_read_anchor":"The Secret Lake","lr_seo_hook":"A lonely boy's summer turns wild, then magical, in a house full of ivy."},"book_tag":[1047],"age_group":[19],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[414],"class_list":["post-7785","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-magic-books","age_group-books-for-7-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-jack-ryder"],"yoast_title":"Jack’s Secret Summer by Jack Ryder | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"A lonely boy's summer turns wild, then magical, in a house full of ivy. For ages 7+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n