The Far Out Five: Snot Jelly Island

The Far Out Five: Snot Jelly Island by Olaf Falafel (Puffin Books) RRP: $19.99 ISBN 9780241732618

Reviewed by Rebecca Fung

This is a chaotically funny graphic novel, all a bit here, there and everywhere, which could be seen as part of its charm, problematic, or the pointless point of it all!

Our story starts with four normal kids, Stewart, Sophie, Zainab and Jeffrey, who meet an incompetent magician at a carnival. During an electrical storm, combined with out-of-date hotdogs, a butterfly's fart and the magician's utterance of a spell, the children and the magician are transformed into a rainbow-spewing unicorn, a magical grumpy koala, a musical walking bathtub, an intellectual seabird bird and a cool seal. They're now the Far Out Five.

Now, of course, it's time for them to go on adventures.

The scene's already set for wackiness and incoherence. The adventures are mainly opportunities to tell jokes and go crazy rather than follow logical storylines - the team itself is hodge podge. But that's not a bad thing, silliness is fun. The first adventure involves quick visits to lots of different lands. Falafel makes the most of it, poking fun at Chess Island, the Kingdom of Infinite Monkeys, Mudland, and the Island of Teachers.

The real story starts about halfway through the book when the Five visit Snot Jelly Island. Here, they find many people encased in green snot jelly, frozen as statues. One survivor, Craig the Cowardly, is there to tell the tale. He's recruited along to the Far Out Five, which is thus no longer Five, to help save the island from a Medusa creature who can snot-jellify everyone with her dangerous stare.

The visuals here are vibrant and fun in mucous green. I liked that they were simple, uncomplicated drawings, brightly coloured and very in keeping with the narrative style. Falafel clearly leans into the naughty, gross fun that delights young kids, with a "Plop Ness Monster" early in the book, and plenty of farts, poos, snot and butt jokes. Some parents may think it's too much, but it's the kind of humour that will probably engage kids in the 7-10-year age bracket, especially boys.

The same age group will probably love the weird, cheery chaos with different animals, magic, and action, much of it not making much sense, but anything for a joke.

The book also includes challenging words, including many obscure elements from the periodic table, and "find the difference" activities to keep kids engaged.

However, there are some areas where Falafel skates a lot closer to the edge of what might be considered acceptable for younger kids. For instance, a phrase repeated several times in a story for fun, "clucking fork" is meant to refer to an implement owned by a mythical chicken king, but the joke is clearly meant to be a pun on foul language that parents may feel isn't appropriate.

The book is a wild and ridiculous adventure. The general story is predictable, but the details are very imaginative. I'm sure many kids would love the naughty giggles, but parents should be aware that it does push limits.