Readers can have a monstrous good time, and not just at Halloween.
If readers think they know everything about monsters, they can guess again.
By checking out this zany field guide–like offering, monster mavens will learn lots about these creatures or enlarge their store of knowledge about them. Under the expert tutelage of professors Batula McFang, Blobbins, and Howlsworth and abetted by brains-loving Tina the Zombie, all of whom gamely escort readers through these pages, kids will pick up salient facts about monsters. These include types, diet, biology, habitats, history, and more—including tidbits about what monsters themselves fear the most and what they get up to under some people’s beds! The text’s silly conversational tone is comically tongue-in-cheek and should convince skittish younger readers that the book is meant to evoke chuckles, not shrieks. However, some slightly gross references may elicit an eww or two and/or, perhaps, a mild frisson of delighted shivers. Actual text is kept to a minimum per page, with charts, sidebars, and diagrams breaking up wordiness and heightening visual appeal. The lively, very colorful illustrations are imaginative and filled with raucous details that kids will love poring over. This title’s use in libraries may be limited by a full-page chart that resembles a checklist for kids to fill in and a removable “Monstronomy Diploma” at the end of the book.
Readers can have a monstrous good time, and not just at Halloween. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12280-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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