Troggle the Troll

Troggle the Troll by Nick Falk and Tony Lowe (Random House Australia)
PB RRP $12.95
ISBN 9781742756011
Also available as an ebook
ISBN 9781742748269
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

Tony Lowe’s dedication at the beginning of this humorous and colourful picture book for children aged 2+ hooks me in at the start. ‘While deceiving your parents is bad, eating people is definitely worse!’

The premise is enticing. Trolls! Eating people! Read on.

Troggle the Troll lives with his family ‘under a bridge in a hole in the ground.’ Unlike his fellow story character in the Three Billy Goats Gruff, Troggle and his family are different. They’re not scary. They’re just always hungry. Troggle doesn’t like dinner, ‘because they always had the same thing. Every single night. They had people.’ On Mondays they ate Postman Pie. On Tuesdays it was Teacher Tart and on Thursdays, they lapped up Pilot Pudding.

When Daddy Troll falls ill, it’s up to Troggle to fetch dinner. He is under strict instructions. ‘Something tender, something sweet, something with arms and legs and feet!’ But … ‘No vegegubbles!’

With this delightful dilemma, creators, Nick Falk and Tony Lowe devise a crazy second half of the book. Troggle meets a boy called Tom. Troggle should bring Tom home to be their dinner, but Troggle confesses that he doesn’t really like eating people.

‘Carrots, cabbage and cauliflower?’ said Tom.
‘Yum!’ said Troggle.

So, off to the vegetable patch they go.

Troggle returns home to howls of ‘What’s for dinner?’
‘Something special, something new, something tasty just for you.’

The troll family hoes into the vegetable person Troggle has made by snagging an arm, grabbing a leg and nabbing a nose. They heartily agreed, ‘It’s the tastiest person we ever did eat!’

Troggle is very happy proving that a little troll can make a big difference.

As with the quotes I’ve used, you can see that there is playful use of prose and poetry in this picture book. There are made-up words, visual puns, such as ‘Hole Sweet Hole’, luscious alliteration and lots of onomatopoeic words that capture movement and sound. The words are simple for little ones to read and repeat, and different fonts are used when words need stressing.

There is much humour in the cute and colourful illustrations. There are obvious things to find on each page as well as quirky detail to discover with a closer look.

Nick Falk brings into play his life as a practising psychologist and Tony Lowe’s passion for drawing since he was a child shines through. He also illustrated The Boy who Ate Himself. Hmm, there seems to be a theme here!

The Boy Who Ate Himself

The Boy Who Ate Himself by Colin Cardwell, illustrated by Tony Lowe (Random House Australia)

PB RRP $12.95

ISBN 978-1-74275-243-3
Reviewed by Emma Cameron

Told in rhyme, this it the tale of Harold Bartholomew Jones whose regular diet is less than desirable. Besides ice-cream it includes “chips, MORE CHIPS and tomato sauce – Never anything green, off course.” When Mum declares it is to be no more and says it will be replaced by healthy foods only, Harold hides under his bed … and decides to eat himself!

Designed to convince young readers that healthy food is easier to eat than they may think, the story opens by warning them it is a gruesome, horrible and scary tale. While it states that eating one’s self is not considered good for one’s health either, it proceeds to show that it isn’t all that hard for Harold. Through quirky, brightly coloured and fun illustrations, readers become relaxed.

But then they see the last thing that’s left … a mouth that can’t eat itself. Could it get worse? YES! The mouth is “left behind on his bedroom floor for his mum to find.” Thank goodness the shock of that is enough to wake him. Readers will be most relieved. And thank goodness that, when recalling his dream, Harold feels ill and figures giving cabbage a go couldn’t possibly be all that scary.

With the cabbage comes carrots, beans, lettuce, broccoli and even aubergine. Harold grows fitter, stronger, and turns his back on even the tiniest biscuit crumb. A sweet illustration on the last page shows him in a bubble bath where, “for a special treat”, he may sometimes indulge in nibbling his feet. No doubt readers will be left giggling but, somewhere in the mix, their subconscious will surely digest some of the important message.