An origin story—and alphabet practice and vocabulary stretcher—for Bad Kitty’s fans.
A look back at the Halloween that transformed a brave, daring, and energetic kitty into a scaredy-cat and then into the Bad Kitty readers know.
As with her other adventures, readers are in for several trips through the alphabet. The first lists the cat’s attributes before she became a scaredy-cat. The second lists the things she saw that scared her: Evil Ectoplasm, a Killer Kracken, a Putrid Pirate, a Toxic Tarantula. Each (except for Uncle Murray, who just needs to borrow some candy) is a costumed child with trick-or-treat bag or bucket in hand, though on the first run-through, they look all too real and menacing, sending poor Kitty to cower under the couch. Until, that is, one of them drops the candy. Huge eyes reveal how excited Kitty is at the haul, Apples to Zoo animal crackers, and at that moment, she decides to become a bad Kitty, besting and revealing each costumed child and stealing the candy: she Flattened Frankenstein, Mauled the Mummy, and Nullified the Neanderthal. Bruel’s illustrations, heavy on the blacks, purples, and oranges, do double duty, helping youngsters with the challenging vocabulary, though not all the pictures really show the actions (Harassing the Hag looks like either tickling or scratching, and both Gnawing on the Goblin and Injuring the Invisible Man involve biting).
An origin story—and alphabet practice and vocabulary stretcher—for Bad Kitty’s fans. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59643-978-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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