Endearing and good-hearted.
Based on a tale by the Sufi mystic Rumi, this oversized picture book adroitly calms a child’s fear of monsters through some creative parental problem-solving.
Young Amir, toothbrush in hand, stalls at bedtime, imagining a monster with huge teeth who doubtlessly wants to eat him. His dad suggests that Amir growl like a tiger to scare the monster away and offers to intervene with a frying pan—but Amir conjures up monster parents with a larger frying pan. The scenario escalates, with Amir’s mom intrepidly charging in with an umbrella and the monster parents retaliating. Finally, Amir's parents offer coffee and sweets to their counterparts; while they chat, Amir shares his toy cars with his new monster friend, Grobblechops. Thus appeased, Amir settles down for the night in his cozy bed, holding his teddy bear close. But his dad leaves the door open, just a little, to let “a bit of light” in. The kinesthetic, splattery quality of the illustrations draws young eyes to the story, and the slightly off-kilter orientation of many of the scenes adds a sense of appropriately disorienting whimsy. The reassurance offered by Amir’s parents proves a comforting salve for a common childhood anxiety. Amir and his parents have brown skin and black hair.
Endearing and good-hearted. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-910328-41-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiny Owl
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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
Funny though the illustrations are and loving though the text is, the book falls short due to lack of nuance.
Unabashed sentimentality dominates the text in this loving promise from a father to his child.
What saves this title from being just a syrupy pronouncement are the characters. Santat has good fun creating scenes for two hairy, horned monsters, the dad pickle green and the child a pleasing purple. The somewhat cuddly pair is comically shown participating in their less-than-ordinary activities like “having spaghetti for breakfast, French toast for dinner, and rocky road ice cream in the bathtub.” They play with robots, listen to really loud music, burp like champions and miss school to visit New York to share a hot dog. Readers will smile at the low-key humor in the pictures. The page stating, “Because I’m your dad, you can sometimes stay up late with me to watch TV” depicts the father asleep while the child sits on the sofa terrified by what is on the screen. Warm moments abound, as when little monster is rolled up by her father in a blanket like a burrito or when the dad checks the closet and under the bed for monsters. Zappa wrote this story for his daughter, and it overflows with genuine fatherly affection that he would like to pass on, since his father (avant-garde rocker Frank Zappa) did the same for him.
Funny though the illustrations are and loving though the text is, the book falls short due to lack of nuance. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-4774-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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