March 2017 - Fungus the Bogeyman

[Manybooks, Active moderator]

In March of 2017, we will be discussing Raymond Biggs' Fungus the Bogeyman. For a picture book, Fungus the Bogeyman is actually often quite sophisticated humour-wise, and although I think that many children will definitely enjoy much of the narrative and likely be tickled with and by the at times rather disgusting and at times overtly potty-type of humour, I do not think that they will necessarily get all or even most of the allusions, parodies and such (and I do warn parents who are considering reading this to their children to actually read the entire book before using it with or for their little ones just to make sure that they do not end up with surprises they might personally find inappropriate, as I am the one who suggested the book and do not want to incur anyone's wrath if they decide that Fungus the Bogeyman is too strange, too disgusting and the like for their children).

For me, as much as I have liked reading Fungus the Bogeyman, I do find the presentation of the book more than a bit annoying, namely that the font size of the printed, of the presented text is so cramped and so minuscule in size that I not only needed my strongest reading glasses but that I also had trouble at times figuring out where one line began and the other line commenced (I had to reread some sections a few times because my eyes accidentally missed or skipped entire chunks, another caveat for parents reading Fungus the Bogeyman with their children or to their children, and perhaps also an issue for recently independent readers reading the book by themselves). The minuscule font size has actually bothered me so much that when I get around to posting my review, thispersonal annoyance will feature prominently (as the book could have been so much more easy and comfortable a perusal if there had been even a slightly larger text and some better spacing between lines of text).

[Manybooks, Active moderator]

Now as much as I do enjoy both the concept and appreciate much of the humour, I actually remain a wee bit disappointed with and by Fungus the Bogeyman. I find the societal reversals of Fungus' underground domain and the everyday human world above ground both entertaining and massively appealing (basically distorted mirror images of one another with, for example, Fungus and his wife relishing a slimy and cold bed whilst the humans above ground would of course desire their beds to be warm and dry). That being all said, the constant and continuously recurring anally, body fluid and excretions based humour does tend to feel and become rather overly exaggerated and overused (even to the point of wearing more than a bit thin and thus no longer even being all that humorous, but mostly just like a buzzing mosquito, somewhat annoying and recurringly tedious).

And even considering that many children do seem to massively relish and cherish humour based on bodily functions and liquid excretions, I do have to wonder whether the massive amounts of the latter might well end up being potentially distracting and even too much of a "good thing" (so much to even jade and feel dragging for children who usually enjoy this type of humour, these types of jokes). Fungus' world and his daily life are indeed often minutely, engagingly and even in a strange way beautifully described and drawn (and the accompanying illustrations are gorgeously descriptive and actually, amazingly sparkle with their very and often intense general ugliness), but really and truly, for and to me, the constant and ever-present referrals to farting, vomiting, grottiness, slime, mould and the like does become rather frustratingly and infuriatingly dragging (and repetitive as anything).