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DEAR BIG, MEAN, UGLY MONSTER

A young boy fights his fear of monsters with words and wins a new friend in the process. Monsters are one of Joe’s few fears, specifically the sharp-clawed, long-fanged one under his bed. Mom and Dad try to help with monster spray and a flashlight, but after dark, Joe still crosses his room on his furniture. A story gives Joe the idea of using words, and he leaves a note telling the creature to go away. The monster leaves one of his own, explaining himself and apologizing. But Joe is not appeased, still demanding that he leave. Now angry, the monster points out that it’s Joe who’s the mean one, with his monster spray and a light stick as weapons. This gives Joe pause. Over the next few notes the two realize they have much in common. DiRocco’s illustrations are a treat. Expressive faces, a not-too-scary monster and a child’s point of view all help children relate to Joe’s predicament. Designed to give children one more weapon in their arsenal against their fears, this one will take its place beside the standards. (Picture book. 4-9)

Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2006

ISBN: 1-58760-072-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Child & Family Press

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2005

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OTIS

From the Otis series

Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009

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GIRLS ON THE RISE

Enthusiastic and direct, this paean has a lovely ring to it.

Former National Youth Poet Laureate Gorman invites girls to raise their voices and make a difference.

“Today, we finally have a say,” proclaims the first-person plural narration as three girls (one presents Black, another is brown-skinned, and the third is light-skinned) pass one another marshmallows on a stick around a campfire. In Wise’s textured, almost three-dimensional illustrations, the trio traverse fantastical, often abstract landscapes, playing, demonstrating, eating, and even flying, while confident rhymes sing their praises and celebrate collective female victories. The phrase “LIBERATION. FREEDOM. RESPECT” appears on a protest sign that bookends their journey. Simple and accessible, the rhythmic visual storytelling presents an optimistic vision of young people working toward a better world. Sometimes family members or other diverse comrades surround the girls, emphasizing that power comes from community. Gorman is careful to specify that “some of us go by she / And some of us go by they.” She affirms, too, that each person is “a different shape and size,” though the art doesn’t show much variation in body type. Characters also vary in ability. Real-life figures emerge as the girls dream of past luminaries such as author Octavia Butler and activist Marsha P. Johnson, along with present-day role models including poet and journalist Plestia Alaqad and athlete Sha’carri Richardson; silhouettes stand in for heroines as yet unknown. Imagining that “we are where change is going” is hopeful indeed.

Enthusiastic and direct, this paean has a lovely ring to it. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025

ISBN: 9780593624180

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024

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