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Cover of Super Happy Magic Forest: Slug of Doom
Picture · ages 4–8

Super Happy Magic Forest: Slug of Doom

Written and illustrated by Matty Long

Book 2 of 3 in Super Happy Magic Forest Picture BooksView the full series

Part of the Super Happy Magic Forest universeOpen the collection

Top giftableEndlessly rereadable

A giant, very determined slug is threatening the Super Happy Magic Forest. Our five heroes must stop it. The second picture book in the series introduces a proper villain and is, if anything, funnier than the first.

  • Best for4–8
  • FormatPicture
  • Length48 pp
  • Read aloud~10 min
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The vibe

What it’s like.

Style

  • Conversational
  • Comedic
  • Onomatopoeic

Tone

  • Funny
  • Silly
  • Exciting
  • Adventurous
  • Whimsical
  • Absurdist
  • Irreverent

Themes

On the pageslug, magic forest, magic potion, quest, villain, visual joke

Experience meters

Energy5/ 5
Humour5/ 5
Scariness2/ 5
Peril2/ 5
Wonder5/ 5
Cosiness2/ 5
Emotional intensity2/ 5
Conceptual intensity2/ 5

What’s it about?

The story.

A Slug of Doom has appeared. It is enormous. It is leaving a trail of gloop. It is heading directly for the Super Happy Magic Forest. Blossom, Gumball, Trevor, Herbert, and Hoofius must intercept it, if they can agree on how, which they cannot, and if their various plans work, which they do not. Matty Long's second picture book maintains everything that made the first one work: the densely layered illustrations, the running visual gags, the five completely distinct characters whose incompatibilities are the engine of every joke. The villain formula adds a satisfying new structural element, the Slug of Doom is a genuinely ridiculous antagonist, which is exactly right, and the expanded world-building rewards readers who already know the forest. Best read after the first book, though newcomers will find their footing quickly. The picture book that established the series as a collection rather than a one-off, and the direct bridge into the chapter books for readers ready to move on.

Fit check

Right for your child?

Where it lands by age

  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 7
  • 9
  • 11
  • 13
  • Best fit · 4–8
  • Read aloud · 4–9
  • Independent · 6–8

Prose load

Light

Visual support

Very high

Reluctant-reader friendly

Very

Read-aloud quality

Excellent

Works well for

  • Reading aloud
  • Reading together
  • Gift-buying
  • Reluctant readers
Low sensitivityNo content warnings

Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.

Bedtime suitability

2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime

Sensitive-child

4 / 5 · Good fit

Graphic intensity

2 / 5 · Mild

Best for

  • Laugh out loud
  • Reluctant readers
  • Visual comedy
  • Gift book
  • Read aloud performance

Avoid if

No common reasons to avoid this one — a rare clean sweep on the sensitivity flags.

Particularly good for children who are…

  • Reluctant reader
  • Interested in art and creativity
  • Making friends
  • Struggling with reading

In the classroom

How it works in school.

A funny, detail-packed fantasy picture-book series — a fun read-aloud and seek-and-find favourite.

Classroom role

  • Read aloud
  • Classroom library

A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.

Why it lands

Why they love it.

Why kids love it

The specific kick is the actual villain — a giant Slug of Doom leaving a trail of gloop toward the forest, the five heroes failing to agree on a plan, the second picture book introducing a proper antagonist. The franchise's villain debut.

  • Secret world
  • Adventure and freedom
  • Magic powers
  • Having a nemesis

Why parents love it

The second Super Happy Magic Forest — Slug of Doom as the franchise's first proper villain, the formula consolidating. Best after the first book; the world-building has had time to settle. The picture book that turned the series into a franchise.

  • Shared humour
  • Nostalgia
  • Conversation starter
  • Quick to read

In the series

Super Happy Magic Forest Picture Books.

3 books · open the series →

About the author & illustrator

Matty Long.

ML

Matty Long

Writer & illustrator · United Kingdom

Matty Long is a British author-illustrator best known for the Super Happy Magic Forest series, irreverent, joke-saturated comic picture books / chapter-comic hybrids about a band of cheerful fantasy creatures (a unicorn, a fairy, a slug, a faun) on increasingly silly quests. Long's style is bright, panel-led, gag-heavy and densely visual, with running jokes for adult readers underneath. The series is a reliable bridge for kids moving from picture books into longer comic-format reading, with strong reluctant-reader pull for ages 5–9. Long also illustrates a range of other picture books and works in animation. A great gateway author for funny-bone children not yet ready for Bone or Hilo.

More from Matty Long

If you liked this

Three ways out of this book.

If you liked this, try…

Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.

Cover of Super Happy Magic Forest
Super Happy Magic Forest

by Matty Long

Bunny vs Monkey
Jamie Smart
Bunny vs Monkey

by Jamie Smart

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
Drew Daywalt
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

by Drew Daywalt

Come into this from…

Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.

Cover of Super Happy Magic Forest
Super Happy Magic Forest

by Matty Long

Oi Frog!
Kes Gray
Oi Frog!

by Kes Gray

Where to go next…

Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.

Buy or borrow

Pick up a copy.

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  • Waterstones
  • Amazon UK
  • Hive
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Last reviewed · June 2026Suggest a correctionHow we recommend

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