Jelly at the drop of a hat (ok a leaf) (Mr Jelly - Roger Hargreaves)

Member Name: MI9to5

Product:	Mr Jelly - Roger Hargreaves
Date:	18/11/08 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Teaches children not to be scared

Disadvantages: NONE

As a young child the Mr Men and Little Miss series of books were always a firm favourite of mine. They were so popular in my house that I had the teddies, the bedding, the curtains, posters, and mugs. I could go on but I'll stop. Come to think of I still have most of that stuff. Anyway as usual I digress. The point is however that once you start reading these books your love for them begins to grow and in my opinion it is this that has made the series so popular.

Mr Jelly is number 15 in the Mr Men series, which contains 46 books written by Roger Hargreaves and later his son Adam. Mr Jelly is shaped rather like a jelly to be perfectly honest. He is pink in colour and has a wide-open mouth. Mr Jelly is also quivering. It is this picture of him that is on the front cover of the book above which is printed his name in block, black capitals.

Upon turning the book over you will find smaller pictures of all the other Mr Men characters alongside their names and numbers. This in my opinion is a brilliant feature because it makes the task of knowing which book to purchase and read next that much easier. The price of the book is also located on the back. These books now retail around the £2.50 mark but can be purchased for less if you shop around.

Mr Jelly's tale begins by telling the reader that Mr Jelly was frightened of everything and that because of this he lives far away from anybody that he can find. One morning Mr Jelly awoke with a start when a leaf fell right outside of his house. Trembling he hid under the bedclothes and stayed there for an hour. A similar situation occurred when his cornflakes crackled when he poured milk on them and then again when a worm said good morning to him whilst he was walking in the woods.

It was on this walk however that Mr Jelly came across a tramp enjoying a sleep in the middle of a field. Unfortunately however Mr Jelly didn't see the tramp and so when he heard him snore he merely fainted with terror. Upon coming round Mr Jelly found himself sat in the palm of the tramp's hand and was again extremely frightened. The tramp however explained that he used to be nervous like Mr Jelly but that he learned not to be. The tramp then offers to tell Mr Jelly a secret. What will the secret be and will it stop Mr Jelly turning to jelly every five minutes?

Like all other Mr Men and Little Miss books the way this story is printed makes it exceptionally good for young children to understand. Each double page spread has writing on the left hand side, which is simple yet not too simplistic as to be patronising, and colourful illustrations on the right hand side. The story itself is relatively short and so can easily be read within a five to ten minute time period, making it perfect for bedtime.

The story of Mr Jelly is a brilliant one as it teaches children not to be scared of every little thing and introduces to them a way for controlling fear. Because of this I therefore think that Mr Jelly deserves the gull 5/5 stars.

Summary: A great Mr Men story