The Tripp Diaries (Stig Wemyss, Bolinda, $14.95 cd, ISBN 1740948092) ***

Audio releases are the secret weapon of canny parents trapped with their children on long-distance car trips. The Tripp Diaries have been specifically created for use on an Australian road trip. A stationary listen does not translate so well, but road-testing these discs confirms that they may be onto something. This sequel takes a while to get out of first gear but soon develops into an enjoyable character-driven mystery. The premise of a family road trip works well, especially the family’s travel-weary niggling at eachother and by the end the Tripps have gone on their own personal journeys. The tone sits somewhere between an Aussie soap opera and the works of Morris Gleitzman. The main story is interspersed with songs, skits and ‘Trip Tips’. Much of this material, delivered in the style of obnoxious radio DJs, will appeal to 8–12-year-old boys but may be a bit grating on repeated listens. A lot of humour hits the mark, everyone certainly seems to be enjoying themselves and the mood is infectious. Stig Wemyss pulls together the proceedings effortlessly and is an appealingly exuberant narrator. ‘Plan: Rescue Dad’ is limited to use as travel accompaniment but within its field proves to be the best Trip Tip of them all. Excellent value too.

Chris Girdler is a bookseller at Melbourne children’s books specialist The Little Bookroom

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2005, Thorpe-Bowker