THE MONSTER SHOW

Strong patterns and knockout colors in Harper’s stylized art give this gallery of Wild Things an arresting look—but the pedestrian accompanying captions take it down a peg. As a rapt audience looks on, a top-hatted emcee brings out an array of “monsters big and monsters small,” explaining as he goes the difference between “scary” and “funny,” that some monsters bite and some don’t, some juggle, all look silly in underpants and, as all love to perform, young viewers should “look for a show near you!” The toothy creatures trooping across the stage sport a dazzling array of zigzag stripes, vivid swirls of body color, and Carnival-mask faces—but there’s no plotline, nor any obvious idea here beyond showcasing the art. For some children, that might be enough; most will prefer the more engaging sorts of encounters found in the likes of Ed Emberley’s Go Away, Big Green Monster (1992) or Linda Ashman’s Essential Worldwide Monster Guide, illustrated by David Small (2003). (Picture book. 6-8)