Dorothy Sue Ann Murguson isn't having the best of times. Her bodybuilder mother and food-additive salesman father are constantly on the road. Her hair is either flat and limp or tangled in knots. Her pet fish keep keeling over. And if that's not enough, a caterpillar, cat, rabbit, dog, turtle - and a ravenous enormous squid - are devouring her homework.

When the squid rampages through town, Dorothy's misguided school counsellor finally realizes that the homework-eating creatures aren't all in her head - and that magnets, crystals and sundry wacko therapies won't make them vanish. Thanks to Dorothy's quick thinking, the squid is captured and the town is saved.

A madcap tall tale from Oscar winner John Weldon, The Hungry Squid will make anyone pause before saying, "The dog ate my homework."