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THE BEAST IN MY BELLY

Name: THE BEAST IN MY BELLY
Author: Grzegorz Kasdepke
ISBN: 978-1-59270-160-5

by Grzegorz Kasdepke ; illustrated by Tomek Koztowski ; translated by Agnes Monod-Gayraud ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2015

An amusing take on a universal human experience, one that should strike giggling chords among its readers.

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At first alarmed by the “beast in her belly,” a little girl eventually makes peace with it in this very short chapter book.

The unnamed narrator of this Polish import is a spunky, bespectacled preschooler who meets with endless frustration as she tries to convince her family about the titular beast. She is so upset that she even forgoes her slice of cake, which causes the beast to make “whimpering sounds like it was sorry.” She works hard to identify the creature—cat? dog? carp?—but all she’s really able to discover is that it seems to like her favorite foods, quieting down with contentment after they eat. Kasdepke’s deadpan text is fluidly translated by Monod-Gayraud, unfurling with a quiet irony that will elicit chuckles from both adults and children. After the beast leads the little girl to the fridge for a midnight snack, “I discovered what a greedy beast it was! It wouldn’t go back to sleep until it had eaten not one, not two, not three, but four sausages!” Koztowski’s expressive illustrations are dominated by oranges and teals, varying layout and placement on the page with controlled whimsy. The “beast” is depicted as an ever present orange circle against the girl’s midriff; scribbly representations of the various creatures she imagines it to be appear in the margins.

An amusing take on a universal human experience, one that should strike giggling chords among its readers. (Fiction. 7-10)

Pub Date: July 12, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-59270-160-5

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books

Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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HORRIBLE HARRY SAYS GOODBYE

From the Horrible Harry series , Vol. 37

by Suzy Kline ; illustrated by Amy Wummer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 27, 2018

A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.

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A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.

Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.

A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)