Review: Oh, Armadillo! This Party's All Wrong! by Ellie Irving

 Genre: Children's 3-6

Published: January 24, 2023

Pages: 32

Oh, Armadillo! is a hilarious tale exploring the endlessly humorous mishaps of an Armadillo who wants to host the most amazing party. 

Armadillo sets out to please the jungle animals with classic party treats and games, but everything turns out a little peculiar... like a sponge cake made of sponges and an actual musical chair!

• Children will roar with laughter at the silly scenarios and very funny mishaps that Armadillo creates while planning his party. He misinterprets the most popular party games, like Pass the Parcel, in the funniest ways.
• Oh, Armadillo! combines laugh-out-loud humor with teaching a gentle lesson that there's nothing wrong with thinking differently. The jungle animals declare that Armadillo's party is wrong because everything is a little unusual, but what the animals learn is that being creative and inventive can lead to fun and laughter!
• This bold, bright, hilarious picture book is brought to life by illustrator Rob Starling. 

Oh, Armadillo! will provide hours of laughs for little readers, while reminding us that thinking differently is good and can lead to the most fun of all!

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This is a fun little rhyming story about an armadillo who sees the world a little bit differently than everyone else. He takes things quite literally (sponge cake made of sponges, musical chair made of various instruments) which makes the other animals confused at the very least. But then Armadillo realizes that the way he views things makes him unique and awesome, and the other animals try to take a page out of his book and try some new things. 

The illustrations were really bright and colorful, making it easy to see the unique things that Armadillo was coming up with based on the things the animals all said they wanted to see at the party. 

I felt like this book had two important messages for kids. One, if you can be anything the best thing you can be is uniquely you. And two, trying to please everyone else can often result in failing to please anyone, yourself included. I would absolutely read this book a few times without being annoyed by the requests to do so. 

Overall I give it 4.2 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Ellie Irving was born in Bristol, but raised in a hamlet on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea, by a family of avid readers. So avid, in fact, her mum enrolled her in the local library before she’d even emerged from the womb, which was awkward for all concerned. When she was seven, Ellie’s passion for writing stories flourished when her parents bought her a Petite Super International typewriter for Christmas, and there was no stopping her. After studying a 4 year broadcasting degree at the University of Leeds, Ellie realised there were too few home makeover shows in the world, and worked on a number of DIY and Garden programmes for UK Style. Ellie returned to studying and graduated from an MA in Screenwriting course at the London College of Communication in 2008.

Rob Starling began doodling at school and hasn't stopped since. A former teacher, he now enjoys running workshops, talks, and writing sessions. He thinks that kids have got a pretty good idea of how things ought to be, and adults have a lot to learn from them. When he’s not drawing, he can be found doing daddy duties, trying to bake a sponge that doesn’t look like a pancake, or popping the kettle on. He was shortlisted for The Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2018 for his debut book, Fergal is Fuming. He lives and works in Norwich, UK.