The Last Noo-noo

Marlon the little monster’s granny is constantly scolding him for still having a dummy (which Marlon fondly calls his ‘noo-noo’). She thinks he is too old for one (he is just about to start school), his teeth will stick out and it makes him ‘look like an idiot’. Marlon’s mum explains that Marlon only uses it at night or when he’s tired. Granny is very keen for the noo-noo to be thrown away and Mum starts planning how she will wean him off the dummy. Mum throws all the noo-noos she can find into the dustbin, but Marlon has a secret supply hidden around the house. When Granny sees Marlon still has his dummy she tells him he will be teased at school. Marlon already has been teased about it but he loves his noo-noo so much he doesn’t care. He tells her the other children are just jealous. Gradually, Marlon’s secret noo-noo stash dwindles. He buries one in the garden (it transpires later in the book that this is in the hope that a noo-noo tree may grow), which leaves him one last pink one. The other children build a ‘noo-noo snatcher’ which they use to grab the precious dummy away from Marlon, but monsters have very powerful jaws and the dummy just won’t budge. Suddenly, Marlon decides to give up his dummy and lets go of it, sending the bullies flying into a pond. Marlon announces to his Mum and Granny that he has given up his noo-noo, and tells them about his noo-noo tree in the garden. They laugh at this seemingly ridiculous concept, but the final illustration shows Marlon harvesting a basketful of dummies from his very own tree!