While everyone knows that Toocool rules,the reality is that people ask me,not him,the hard questions about boys and reading.That said,an analysis of Toocool's adventures will actually provide many of the answers that people seek when trying to unpack the range of issues associated with boys and reading.

The question I'm asked most often is "what can we do to get boys interested in reading?"

Some may consider it a straight forward question; my concern however, is that it makes an assumption that boys aren't interested in reading.

Even when attempting to answer the question for the group of boys whose reading skills are particularly limited,I again find that a range of stereotypes and all manner of conflicting generalisations get in the way.

My response to the question "what can we do to get boys interested in reading?" is to ask a question straight back. "Are we talking about boys who can read - but won't, or are we talking about boys who because they struggle to read are considered embarrassed reluctant readers?"

I am of the view that it is really important to acknowledge that there are many boys with sound reading skills,who simply refuse to read what their parents and teachers want them to read. They will only read what interests them-surprise surprise ! Sadly,based on this, many are labeled in a negative way.

My work with children has evidenced for me over and over again, that it's the type of book that is presented to the boy, that will dictate the boy's response. When the response is rejection by both the boy with sound reading skills and the boy who is struggling - the label tends to be a negative stereotype. In my view this has to change if we are to do our best by children.

Boys - irrespective of their reading ability - enjoy pictures,comics, movies and books which place action ahead of emotion. Boys - irrespective of their reading ability - enjoy situations where 'what the characters do' is more important than 'what the characters think and feel'.

Mindful of this,I have always believed it to be essential to introduce boys to books that present an environment where it is possible for their imaginations to run wild.More specifically, an environment where they can project themselves into the book, and consider themselves the main character.Books that are written in the first person greatly enable this - and this is one of the reasons why the Toocool series has been so popular with many children, despite their diverse range of reading skills.

It’s my experience that boys also really like books that reflect an image,that matches the image they want to project to others,and in many cases the image they really do have of themselves. They seek to identify themselves in the book living the adventure. Hence the book that then allows them via imagination to be what they would like to be,and to do what they would like to do, is the book that they'll choose to read. Sometimes over and over again - which is just fine!

This explains in part the popularity of books with characters engaged in sport.These books attract many boys. That said if sport is not the key, then the application of the same thinking can be extended to wizards,super-heros, the characters boys find hilarious, those who fight in mystical battles and even Tazan!

Boys love to have fun. If reading is what we require them to do, and we do,then the book in question needs to be just as much fun as whatever else it is that they do that makes them laugh and jump around in an imaginary adventure,or creating mayhem poking fun at others. The Toocool character attracts and lures boys because he has so much fun; and better still he is in control of how much fun he has, where he has it,with whom he has it and most often he creates his own plot for his adventure.

Boys are constantly being told to behave,to be tidier, and to be quieter-none of which they want to do, and none of which amount to the sort of fun they want to have.So it's literally Toocool to the rescue-the characters in the books are not contained or limited by the restrictions placed on boys in real life.

In writing 'Toocool' my main aim was to create something that would entice boy readers-no matter what their reading ability. The fact that the characters and adventures have such an immediate and strong appeal for boys, and many girls, has resulted in the Toocool series also contributing greatly to the development of those with limited reading skills.

Toocool is an average boy, from your everyday suburb, living a relatively normal life;but he, like most boys, uses his imagination to create his own world, where nothing goes wrong and he is the focal point.

Indeed Toocool really does rule. He has been the reason why so many boys have picked up a book by choice, and in turn became excited about reading for the first time, and could only be described as reluctant when it came to putting the book down.