THE LUCK OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER

Child and monster connect in this airy tale of interspecies friendship. Discovering to her disgust that she’s getting oatmeal for breakfast every morning while crossing the Atlantic on a liner, young Katerina-Elizabeth takes matters into her own hands by chucking the mess out the nearest porthole. One’s mess is another’s delicacy, though, and the tiny ocean worm that feeds on the sludge is soon following the ship, chowing down on each morning’s treat and growing like Topsy. By the time the voyage ends in Scotland, the creature is “as thick as an elephant’s belly and as long as the main hall of an elementary school.” And too big to leave the lake. But though oatmeal is no longer forthcoming from Katerina-Elizabeth, there are plenty of other children around Loch Ness to provide it, along with likewise discarded haggis and suet pudding. Magoon places a small, red-headed lass amid elegant Edwardian surroundings and depicts the monster as a sort of ropy tadpole with a large head and a friendly expression. Both will charm readers, whether picky eaters or no. (Picture book. 7-9)