Fergus the Farting Dragon

Fergus the Farting Dragon by Monique Mulligan, illustrated by Veronica Rooke (Serenity Kids) PB RRP $12.99    ISBN 978-0-9954104-3-5

Reviewed by Stacey Gladman

In life there are adversities and challenges around every corner: the real challenge is how we deal with them. Fergus the Farting Dragon introduces the reader to a sweet little dragon named Fergus, with rather a smelly little problem. 

Young Fergus the dragon was dropped on the head as a wee little dragon, and it soon becomes clear not all is well with Fergus. Unlike the other dragons, Fergus can’t breathe fire – he only snorts. Fergus’s uncle tries to teach him to create fire, but rather than coming out of his mouth, he notices smoke coming from his bum!

Fergus is mocked and teased by the older dragons, much to the dismay of Fergus who continues to try and breathe fire. However, Fergus does have one skill the older dragons don’t have - he can produce the most horrendous smells from his bum, with a fart even worse than a “sweaty old sock”. 

One day a cheeky young knight in a fire-proof suit manages to steal one of the dragons golden eggs much to the dismay and embarrassment of all the dragons. Protected from fire, the dragons have no hope of getting their treasure back, or do they? Fergus, knowing his skills are different comes up with a plan to retrieve the egg. But will it work? 

Fergus the Farting Dragon is a funny story which utilises lots of fart words which I think will appeal to children as they giggle their way through the story. But it also has the key messages of embracing one’s differences and figuring out a way to make them work for you in the end, much like Fergus did. 

The picture book is beautifully illustrated with colourful imagery that grabs the readers attention - both young and old alike. I also enjoyed have key words and phrases highlighted in colourful text as well, it added to the story in a number of sections to emphasise key parts. 

My Silly Mum

My Silly Mum by Monique Mulligan, illustrated by Veronica Rooke (Serenity Press) HB RRP $22.95 ISBN 9780994526557

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

This delightfully warm and funny picture book is guaranteed to add smiles to story time - and quite likely giggles. There's a generous sprinkling of humour throughout this child- and parent-friendly debut title from Monique Mulligan.

Veronica Rooke's fresh, lively cartoon-style illustrations add an extra dimension of fun to Mum's embarrassing antics and introduce a couple of extra characters to amuse young readers.The layout of the hand-drawn text on the pages is an integral part of the book’s design, along with the inclusion of some speech balloons.

My Silly Mum is a wonderfully warm-hearted celebration of the love between a mother and child and is sure to remain a popular choice on the family bedtime reading list. However, its appeal is not limited to a pre-school audience and children in the early years of primary school will also find it entertaining and readily relate to the eye-rolling and face palming a parent’s behaviour can cause.

Colouring sheets, a write-your-own-story activity and finger puppet characters from the book are available from the publisher.