Tag: gross humour

Charlie and the Karaoke Cockroaches, by Alan Brough

Three Things You Should Probably Know About Me (Charlie Ian Duncan)
. I am a digital orphan. (That means that my parents spend so much time on their iPhones they have forgotten I exist.)
. Last year I made a granny explode.
. I never want anything to crawl into the back of my nose, make a nest and lay thousands of eggs.

Charlie isn’t particularly brave or particularly clever, but things seem to happen to him. His new friend Vivienne appears at his front door in the middle of the night with a mysterious black box which she asks him to look after no matter what. Charlie isn’t so sure about this, but Vivienne disappears, and only Charlie’s other friend, Hils, has any ideas what they should do. Because a huge man, The Exterminator, is after Charlie and the things in the box – three karaoke-singing, talking cockroaches.

Charlie and the Karaoke Cokcroaches, the second book featuring Charlie’s fun-filled adventures, is silly, gross, and far-fetched: which is just why young readers will love it. From television personality and comedian Alan Brough , the text has lots of action, short sentences, dialogue and features including funny advertisements and signs, as well as font embellishments.

An easy read with plenty of fun for readers of all abilities.

Charlie and the Karaoke Cockroaches, by Alan Brough
Pan, 2017
ISBN 9781743548448

Attack of the Giant Robot Zombie Mermaid by Matt Cosgrove

Once upon a slime-covered planet …
… in the deep blue depths of outer space there lived a zombie mermaid.
The youngest and grossest of six annoying sisters, the zombie mermaid lived in the grand outer space palace of her father, the Meerkat. (She was adopted) He was a mean and flatulent ruler of the intergalactic kingdom, and a fast-food fiend!
The walls of the palace were made of french fries and the roof of hot dogs! It was a greasy sight to behold, and it’s making me hungry.

The zombie mermaid is waiting her turn to visit the fun park above their planet where humans went for holidays. Each of her sisters has visited and returned with tales of the wonderful time they’d had. Now, as soon as she turns fifteen years old, it will be her turn. Finally, she reaches her fifteenth birthday and sets out for the fun park, hungry for brains. She has a wonderful time then towards the end of the day spies the perfect brains. But before she can eat this tasty treat, the park closes and she retreats. When she returns home, instead of sharing stories with her sisters, she pines away in her room. Brains, all she wants is brains. Each spread is full of guts, gore, and gratuitous asides.

‘Attack of the Giant Robot Zombie Mermaid’ is the result of letting Matt Cosgrove near a fairy tale. Text is altered and added to, images are distorted and ‘revised’. It’s truly disgusting. And dreadful. And gory. And more. Readers will lap up the horribleness and laugh at the barely recognisable tale that sits underneath this multi-gory story. Indeed, readers may well be tempted to plunge elbow-deep into a fairytale, dismember and rebuild it in their own style, words and images. You have been warned. Recommended for independent readers.

Attack of the Giant Robot Zombie Mermaid, Matt Cosgrove
Scholastic 2017 ISBN: 9781743811702

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller
www.clairesaxby.com

The Stinky Street Stories, by Alex Ratt & Jules Faber

The first thing I noticed when I woke up on Sunday morning was a mysterious smell.
I know what you are thinking. I live on Stinky Street – of course it smells!
but you’d be wrong. Stinky Street is named after Ferdinand Stinky.
You might have heard of him he invented Stinky’s Patented Stench-proof Sewers.

When Brian (call me Brain) wakes up to a truly putrid pong, he knows it’s up to him to figure out what’s causing it. With the help of his friend Nerf, and some pegs and carrots, Brian goes room to room trying to figure out just what it is that’s so eye-wateringly stinky.

‘Truly Putridly Pongy’ is the first of four stinky adventures which make up The Stinky Street Stories. These short, humorous stories are full of smelly mishaps, action and humour, illustrated with cartoon-style line drawings.

Suitable for primary aged raders looking for short, humorous reads.

The Stinky Street Stories, by Alex Ratt & Jules Faber
Pan Macmillan, 2017
ISBN 9781743539026

What Do they Do With all the Poo from all the Animals at the Zoo? by Anh Do & Laura Wood (ill)

What do they do with all the poo
from all the animals at the zoo?
the hippos, the tigers, the kangaroos –
What do they do with all that poo?

Comedian Anh Do has been making Australians laugh for years, and since turning to chidlren’s books he’s gained a whole new generation of readers. What Do they Do With all the Poo from all the Animals at the Zoo? will entertain even younger readers than his junior novels.

This rhyming story, which comes with accompanying music on a CD (sung by Simon Mellor) is catchy, funny and, of course, slightly gross, which is exactly why youngsters will love it. The illustrations, by Laura Wood, are also filled with humour, with the looks on the faces of humans and animals particularly engaging.

Great for reading with or without the accompanying music, this will be a favourite both at home and in classrooms.

What Do they Do With all the Poo from all the Animals at the Zoo?, by Anh Do & Laura Wood
Scholastic, 2016
ISBN 9781760276324