The last noo-noo

Winner of the 1995 Smarties Book prize (0-5 category), this picture book features Marlon, the monster, who loves his dummies, his "noo-noos". Marlon's granny says he's too old for a dummy, and all the other monsters tease him too. One day, Marlon's mum decides to take drastic action. She gathers up all the noo-noos she can find, and dumps them in the dustbin; but Marlon has secret supplies hidden all over the house, down the side of an armchair, at the back of the breadbin, in the toe of his wellington boot. Gradually his supply dwindles until Marlon has only one pink noo-noo left. Then he finds a blue one and plants it in the garden. The other monsters lie in wait for Marlon with a home-made noo-noo snatcher, and a fierce tug-of-war ensues. Neither side, it seems, is going to give way, when suddenly Marlon decides to let go, and all the other monsters fall backwards into the pond. "I've given up my noo-noo", Marlon tells his mum and granny, adding that he's planted one in the garden just in case he changes his mind. "Nonsense", says his granny. "Dummies don't grow on trees". The last picture in the book reveals she is quite wrong - for there is a flowering noo-noo tree! Jill Murphy has written and illustrated "The Worst Witch", "Geoffrey Strangeways", "Worlds Apart", "Five Minutes' Peace" (winner of the Best Books for Babies Award and shortlisted for the Children's Book Award}, "All in One Piece" (commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal), "A Piece of Cake" and "A Quiet Night In" (shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal).