A gentle monster story for the very young, appropriate for Halloween or any time.
Happiness is being exactly who you are.
The monster in this breezy LEGO tale would agree. Its plight, as it admits to a passing human minifigure, is that it fears it’s “an embarrassment to monsters everywhere” because it doesn’t always want to be scary. Sometimes it wants to be happy, sad, grumpy, silly, or funny, but it believes it must always be frightening. As its new pal explains succinctly, it’s perfectly fine for it to be any kind of monster and express all sides of its personality when it feels like it—including the fearsome side. After all, the human toy reasons, “You are a MONSTER. Who is going to stop you?” This cute, humorous story aims to reassure readers that emotions aren’t one-dimensional; it’s OK to display one’s varied, true feelings. Aside from the positive, empowering message, readers’ attention will be captured by vividly colored illustrations featuring bold outlines and onomatopoeic sound effects. Some art is set in colored panels; plenty of white space focuses attention on the sweet characters. The engaging dialogue is set in white type within colored speech balloons. As LEGO fans will recognize, the minifigure is a small, smiling, brown-haired, yellow-skinned toy garbed in red shirt and blue slacks. The monster is taller, composed of various bricks, and endowed with large, expressive eyes; as the story proceeds, its eyes reveal its personality shifts.
A gentle monster story for the very young, appropriate for Halloween or any time. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-36082-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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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