Dragon jelly by Claire Freedman

Ill. by Sue Hendra. Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN 9781408838846
(Ages: 2-8) Highly recommended. Max is having a monster party and all his monster friends are invited. The party will have all the usual party attractions, pass the parcel, a magician, a jumpy castle, paddling pool, hide and seek and more but that's where the normal everyday party that we all know stops. Max's party is nonstop creepy-crawly, stinky fun with worms, frogs, buzzing botfly eggs, bat drool, maggot cream and many more icky sticky things that will gross out many an adult but have a young child in fits of laughter. Then it's teatime, with termite tarts, earwig rolls and eyeball birthday cake but the real treat that wows them all is the red-hot dragon jelly.
Claire Freedman who previously brought us the hilarious book Aliens love underpants has teamed up with the wonderful illustrator Sue Hendra. This combination has produced a brightly illustrated entertaining picture book that pushes the boundary of silly mucky icky fun.
Steve Whitehead