12. no kava for johnny by John O'Grady

This is the story of Ioane, a very small Samoan boy with a very large brain. Although he is full of good intentions he is often at the centre of troubles which are not his fault, but of which it could be said that if he had not been present they would not have happened. After one too many of these his tribal leader sends him away to the city to study to be a chemist, so he can make money for the family without causing them trouble. This is where he meets the crazy Australian (John O'Grady) who is credited as the author but who insists that Ioane wrote it himself. His naive and entertaining style is at least half the fun of reading this book, and it made me laugh out loud in public places more than once. Published in 1961 by the author of They're a Weird Mob and Cop this Lot (both bestsellers in their time) this might be hard to find but is well worth the effort.