I WANT TO GROW

A little green monster is frustrated that his best friend keeps getting taller while he stays the same.

One day Herb, a big-eyed, alligatorlike monster, notices that his best friend, Muriel, a big-eyed, white redhead, is getting taller every day. This doesn’t bother him particularly, except for the fact that he is not getting taller himself. The flowers give him an idea; he plants himself in the ground and asks Muriel to water him. Then he waits…and waits…and waits. But he doesn’t grow at all. He notices Muriel rolling out some clay; the clay gets longer and longer as she rolls it. Might that work for him? No. Then he tries to force himself to grow. The effort turns him several different colors, but it makes no change in his height. Platform shoes are a disaster. The next morning he goes to wake Muriel, and she notices something amazing and wonderful: he’s grown! They celebrate (but Muriel decides not to tell him she’s grown, too). Adamson’s unusual friends enliven his simple tale, which feels a bit perfunctory even for its target readership. His illustrations, in pencil, watercolor, and digital, are playful and funny.

Modest but sweet.