Armitage Shanks and the Footballer's Bones: Western Wildcats 4

A genius footballer who registered for the Under 6s but never played a game and an old drunk who once played in the FA Cup final bring the Wildcats a fraction closer to their dream of being winners in the fourth book in this hilarious - and, at times, surprisingly moving - series.

The Wildcats are in trouble again! Down on the ground, there s got to be some way of raising funds, and their coach comes up with health food bars. Only trouble is they re inedible, and whoever sells the most gets an all-expenses-paid trip to Canberra.

Up in the air, though, Splinters and Nuke are on their way to London to retrieve their best player, Gazza, who s been deported back to England with her mum, and the two boys get up to the sort of in-flight antics that have made travelling footballers notorious.

Grappling as always with the problem of how to make up the numbers, someone remembers a genius footballer called Armitage Shanks who registered for the Under 6s, but never turned up for training or played a single game. Then the obvious question: how do you know he was a genius? And (to Splinters) the equally obvious answer: he had great boots! But when Armitage Shanks turns up, it s a bigger surprise than the Wildcats have bargained for.

A crazy adventure with an unexpectedly moving conclusion, this is one of John Larkin s funniest books in the series - but it also offers a little insight into success and fame.