THE OGRE IN THE HALL

A young pup needs to use the bathroom, but someone’s already on the toilet!

Even though Jojo is scared of the ogre who comes out at night, a full bladder is keeping the little dog from sleeping. So, armed with a toy sword, Jojo opens the bathroom door and confronts the ogre, who turns out to have a tummy ache. The ogre likes Jojo’s bathroom because it has a light (unlike his own). The ogre needs to wash his hands in Jojo’s other bathroom (the first bathroom apparently lacks a sink), but he’s scared of the octopus who lives there, so Jojo accompanies him. That octopus is herself afraid of the crocodiles in the hall, and they in turn are terrified of the ogre. And Jojo still needs to pee! The bright colors and cute concept make this French import an appealing read for young children, who’ll be empowered to face the dark on their own trips to the bathroom at night. Jojo veers between resembling a dog and a kangaroo throughout, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense that the first “monster” Jojo encounters is a literal ogre while the rest are animals like Jojo. But the conclusion to the potty emergency will leave both Jojo and readers satisfied even if the penultimate joke falls a little flat. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An amusing, empowering story about conquering nighttime fears.