Swiggo - Jim Slater and (illustrator) Christopher Slater

Published by Granada Publishing Limited/Dragon Books: London, Toronto, Sydney, New York, 1980.
Part of the 'A. Mazing Monsters' series.

Living at my parents' house for a season means that some of the books here are ones I remember from my childhood. Swiggo is one of these (as is Minny Car).

The A. Mazing Monsters series stars Mr A. Mazing, a monster expert, who encounters a different monster in each book, and must solve whatever problems arise from the monster's quirks. The monster Swiggo, which looks like a variation on a mermaid, starts off being caught by Mr A. Mazing in a net, and brought home. Swiggo's issue is that he drinks a lot of water, and as he drinks, he grows. Soon he has outgrown a fish tank, an aquarium, a pond and then is beginning to drain the Atlantic Ocean!

In this story, the problem is eventually solved when Swiggo is reunited with his parents, learns about the blowhole on the back of his head, and squirts all the water back out! Fun, silly, and a good lesson about listening to your parents.

The illustrations in this series are quite unique, and were apparently drawn by the author's son. They add to the light-hearted and silly feel for what is quite a fun series.


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