Right now I’m on page 296 of Snakehead, the new Alex Rider novel by Anthony Horowitz. It’s a blast!

Alex has gone undercover to bust a people-smuggling racket from Indonesia to Darwin. And along the way, he has messed with Major Ya, a truly nasty agent from Scorpia. And discovered a massive stolen bomb.

There are some killer scenes. My favourite so far is when Alex survives a Thai kick-boxing fight, only to land in a river where some friendly rats decide it mght be nice to crawl over him. Yeeewwww!!!!

What are you reading? Tell us and you can win prizes.

PS: We will have copies of Snakehead to give away at the Bookgig on 22 and 23 November.

If you are in Drouin mark Thursday 8 November in your diary.

If you are in Melton, mark Tuesday 13 November in your diary.

Primary school boys in Drouin, you are at the Drouin Secondary College from 6.30 – 7.30pm.

High school boys at Drouin, your session is at the public library from 7.30 – 8.30pm.

Melton, its an all-ages affair at the public library from 7.00pm.

Guest writer at all sessions will be Michael Wagner (pictured). Michael is the creator of the Maxx Rumble books. Ix (pronounced Ish) will also be along. All sessions will include pizza and drinks. A good time guaranteed for all!

For more about Michael Wagner visit his website.

Stephen Hawking is a world famous scientist, dedicated to unlocking the secrets of the universe. Stephen’s daughter Lucy (with a smidgin of help from her dad) has written George’s Secret Key to the Universe.

You can start to unlock the secrets by visiting the website.

Stephen Hawking shot to fame with his book A Brief History of Time. He has even appeared on The Simpsons.

Mitchell, Nathan and Hayden wrote to tell us the best things about their towns.

Mystery prizes are on the way to you!

And Rod Cameron also promised a bonus prize of (from memory) a 1 gigabyte memory stick for everyone who entered. So, Mitchell, Nathan, and Hayden, get on to Rod for your bonus prize.

It’s great to get a picture of the places you live and what you like about it. Thanks for sharing!

(This image is from a blog by architecture student David Teoh who was in Drouin to look at church designs. Visit David’s interesting blog here.)

How did Drouin get its name? Nobody could explain it to. It took Michael to unearth the truth. Michael said:

Drouin got it’s name from a Frenchman named Drouin who invented a new way to extract gold.

Which is true. Drouin is best known for dairy farming (and a couple of handy footballers), but over a hundred years ago, did you know that goldf was mine at the Tarago River directly north of the township.

Way to go, Michael!

George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking and an insideadog t-shirt will be sent to you!

Congratulations to David, who is the winner in the Save One Book competition. David nominated Stax of Maxx by Michael Wagner as the book he would save on a desert island. David wrote:

“Hi I like the book Stax of Maxx (by Michael Wagner) because it is a good book and it is about AFL and I like football.

Stacks of Maxx has eight separate stories, plus drawings by Terry Denton. Huge fun!

So, David, you are now the proud owner of The Dangerous Book for Boys (Australian edition).

Summer Age kids, a daily feature in The Age newspaper over the holidays, is now accepting student design and writing contributions.

You can contribute by:

• sharing your view on these topics: How I’d change my neighbourhood / Someone I admire / My favourite place / Me and my pet or
• redesigning the ‘kids’ logo.

How to contribute

In 50 words or less, email your contribution on one of the following topics:

1. How I’d change my neighbourhood

2. Someone I admire

3. My favourite place

4. Me and my pet.

In 50 words or less, email your comment to summerkids@theage.com.au Include your name, age, address and telephone number and attach a photo. All published entries will receive a prize. Entries close January 11, 2007.

Coming out to schools and libraries in Drouin and Melton this past week has been a blast! All the writers plus Ix have had a great time. The writing, acting, reading and ideas from all the boys has been brilliant. So two thumbs up to you. We’ve even enjoyed meeting the teachers!

Don’t forget to enter the ‘save one book‘ competition. Tell us the one book you would save on a desert island. Entries close Friday26 October at 5pm.

Click here to go the competition. Then write the name of the book and the author/s in the comments box below. This competition is open to everyone. We’ve had some great entries. Check them out in the comments sections.
And there are also two other competitions, for readers in Drouin and in Melton. So get typing to win!

In the meantime, dates for further events are being worked out. Stay tuned.

Ix Adams is a writer and performer who has been working with young people for over ten years. Ix believes everyone is born with the magic power of storytelling and telling a story can change the world, therefore anyone at any age can make a difference!

He is also a volunteer in a mind control experiment conducted by his cat and his five year old daughter who take turns in making Ix do whatever they command him to do. If only it was the other way around!

I am a soccer fan. Back when I was smaller than I am now, I played soccer which was known to the non soccer folk as ‘wogball’. Now it’s known as the world game…who would’ve guessed?

My favourite piece of new technology is an automatic coffee machine. Soon they will be robotic and control our world.

I like books that make you want to live there rather than live in this reality. It hurts to finish such a book.

My dream car is a horse and saddle: economical and environmentally friendly. I can ride but not drive.

Favourite TV program: Skunk Fu. It’s full of Zen wisdom. That’s like learning without thinking.

The best thing about reading is stopping to do daily things and having the itch to jump back into the story.

I have never been able to understand why there is still war in the world. It’s so last millennium.

I began writing as a reason to have a bit of quiet in my life. Still working on it.

The sort of writing I do at the moment is for stage so sometimes I get to perform what I write.

The biggest myth about being a writer is that writers make the biggest myths.

My all-time favourite film is Time Bandits, because I am a time bandit. If only I could remember where I hid all my time from being a bandit. I need it now!

My teenage years are/were a perfect mix of comedy and tragedy.

People might be surprised to know that I was once a stuntman, a cleaner in a ward for people who had no control over their bodily functions, a dishwasher, a hole manufacturer, a poet and a clown just to name a few. Hmm on second thoughts I am still a clown. That’s not a job. It’s a mutation like the X-Men. I’m always very serious I tell you! I wish people would stop laughing at me especially when I am being a clown. It’s hard to think of your clown act when everyone is giggling.

So. Who knows? How did Drouin get its name?

Nobody could tell me last week. I asked students, I asked teachers, I asked people in the street.

Bunyip and Ripplebrook tell their own story. Or at least gives some strong clues.

But Drouin? What is a drouin? Maybe it’s a ladder, or a soldier, or a mystic. Or maybe it is a person’s name. Who was Drouin? A ship’s captain maybe, or an early settler. What? Who?

To help answer the mystery, in addition to a book* I have an insideadog t-shirt.

Drouin, what’s the story? Answers close 5pm Friday 26 October.

*George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking