Lauren Child’s eponymous hero of the popular Clarice Bean series is a fan of the literary character, superspy Ruby Redfort. As the story goes, Lauren Child received so many letters from keen fans wanting to know how they could get hold of the Ruby Redfort books, she decided to write them. The result is a delightful story about a genius code-cracker and undercover agent who happens to be a 12-year-old schoolgirl. Ruby looks like a normal kid, but inside her small body is the mind of a genius and a sassy comedian. She answers the phone with novelty greetings and wears t-shirts that say ‘bored beyond belief’. Naturally, a secret government spy agency recruits Ruby to help them crack a code and prevent a major theft. This is such a fun book that you forgive Child the occasional gap in the storyline. This is going to be the first of a series of six books about Ruby; young girls who enjoy the humour of Clarice Bean will particularly love them.

Angela Crocombe is from Readings St Kilda