Angela Mitchell (text) & Sarah Horne (illustrations)
(Maverick Books)
It is Princess Lolly’s 89th birthday and she cannot wait to see her special birthday jelly. But that jelly is looking particularly grumpy and is refusing to wobble. A jelly that doesn’t wobble, who has ever heard of such a thing? So each guest gets a go at trying to make the jelly change its mind. But that is one stubborn jelly and there is no way it will let itself get eaten. Until the smallest guest has a great idea. Will the jelly relent and do what is expected of it?
The Jelly That Wouldn’t Wobble is a totally wacky tale which young audiences will find particularly entertaining. Thanks to Angela Mitchell’s great use of descriptive language, the story works really well as a read aloud. There is a lot of dialogue within the story, and therefore plenty of opportunities for silly voices.
The two main characters, the princess and the jelly, are just as stubborn as each other, and their battle of wills results in hilarious consequences. The fact that it is a small child who brings the eventual solution won’t be lost on young audiences who will revel in the fact that a child outwits all the adults.
What truly makes this book a success however is Sarah Horne’s illustrations. The brightly coloured, quirky, zany drawings really bring the story to life. Her Lolly is suitably spoilt and cranky looking, and her jelly is perfect. By drawing the eyes slightly differently, the jelly is transformed: mostly it has a slightly monsterish, menacing look, but once the small guest finds a way to make it wobble , its expression changes to bewilderment. The illustrations really set the comical overall tone of The Jelly That Wouldn’t Wobble.
The Jelly That Wouldn’t Wobble is a crazy, vibrant and thoroughly enjoyable tale. It is one of these books that unequivocally creates a positive and fun book-sharing experience between adult and child.
As part of the Jelly That Wouldn’t Wobble blog tour, Sarah Horne will be sharing her fabulous five mad and brilliant picture books with us tomorrow.
All illustrations © Sarah Horne
Source: review copy from publisher
What a brilliantly funny concept for a book with amusing illustrations to match.