Monstrously appealing storytime fun.
A very unusual sleepy-time sendoff.
“Momster” is preparing Little Monster for bed. First, she serves a yummy treat: sour milk and burnt cookies. Before hitting the hay, Little Monster lets out the family’s pet giant tarantula. Then comes a warm mud bath, though Little Monster forgets to crumple up the “filthy towel” so it can fester on the floor and must be reminded to “leave disgusting glops of fangpaste all over the place.” Kids will relate to the other familiar nighttime rituals that follow, all with hilarious tweaks. Little Monster and Momster literally devour their favorite storybooks, and a thirsty Little Monster sips water from a fishbowl. Asked to check for monsters under the bed, Little Monster’s other parent happily responds, “Found one!” and tells the little one to think of “something scary” to guarantee a bad dream. This may not be the best book to read aloud right before bedtime, because children will be chuckling too heartily to fall asleep while delightedly comparing their bedtime routines to Little Monster’s. Kids will also enjoy seeing the warm relationship between Little Monster and the parents, who make bedtime pleasant and comforting. The goofy, thick-lined illustrations feature an endearing Little Monster and a winsome, decidedly unscary pair of monster parents, all of whom are reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things, with the cuteness of Sesame Street characters.
Monstrously appealing storytime fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781797216652
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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