Explosive, Inexplicable Weirdness: Review of Squidge Dibley Destroys the School by Mick Elliott

Mick Elliott, best-selling author of The Turners trilogy is back with a new and equally hilarious series, Squidge Dibley. In the first instalment Squidge Dibley Destroys the School, we are introduced to what must surely be the most entertaining and weirdest year 6 class ever to attend Craglands South Primary School.

Meet serial pranksters the Pritchard twins who hold the school record for most detentions, Daniel Kwon-Yoon who has had 73 skateboards confiscated since kindergarten, Nathan Kobeissi who can’t stop eating paint and Padman our narrator amongst a classroom full of misfits.

Our narrator, Padman starts by running us through the litany of ‘world’s worst teachers’ that year six has had to date. There was Mr Wirthness who inadvertently gave Nathan access to several litres of blue paint that he proceeded to eat and Mr Horkland who made the class watch black and white war movies and admire his collection of model planes, followed by a librarian who hates books, the school maintenance lady and then the very strict and shouty Vice Principal Hoovsley –  ‘Just thinking about him makes my mouth taste like six kinds of vomit.’

Will 6PU survive having Vice Principal Hoovsely as their teacher for the remainder of year 6? He hates kids, never smiles, smells like cabbage boiled in aftershave, and spits when he talks.

Thing are looking very grim but then Squidge Dibley transfers from Special school to join the class – Squidge suffers from Nervous Belly Belchus amongst other things and struggles with exposure to sudden loud noises such as shouting, yelling or angry outbursts. How will Vice Principal Hoovsely cope with that? Will Squidge and his challenges and differences bring the class together or destroy 6PU once and for all?

The book is filled with epic, explosive, inexplicable weirdness, farts, slime, blue poo and lots of laughs. Author Mick Elliot is also responsible for the disgusting, toxic and stinky looking illustrations. It’s no surprise that his other day job is as a TV producer for Nickelodeon, which surely means he is an expert on slime.

Aside from all that fun, the story is essentially about a kid with a difference that could have been a challenge but manages to be what saves the class. Can’t wait for the next one where Squidge, after destroying the class, takes on the destruction of the galaxy!

Purchase a copy of Squidge Dibley Destroys the School by Mick Elliott |Read an extract |Download a Squidge Dibley portrait activity, colouring in page and spot the difference.

Mick Elliott is an author, illustrator, children’s television producer, scriptwriter and animator. He has overseen award-winning series for kids of all ages. His credits as producer include CAMP ORANGE, PLAY ALONG WITH OLLIE, SLIMEFEST and hundreds of advertising campaigns. His work at Nickelodeon has won more than twenty international awards, while his animated short films have screened at over sixty festivals worldwide.
Mick lives in Sydney with his wife, two kids and a garden full of lizards.www.mickelliott.me