Fretting that he won’t be able to get to sleep with Gabe, his favorite under-the-bed monster, who has gone off on a fishing trip, a lad holds auditions for a temporary replacement. Unfortunately, the applicants are just not scary enough, despite full complements of talons, googly eyes and like monsterly accoutrements. Displaying a dab hand for accurately rendered fine detail and massy, solid-looking figures, McWilliam depicts a succession of outsize Monsters, Inc.–style creatures bulging up from beneath the young narrator’s bed and then retreating grumpily after his polite rejections—until, at last, a pair of huge red eyes and “an ominous puddle of drool” signals the return of his customary bogey. “No other monster can scare me like you!” the child declares happily, and settles down for another untroubled night. A clever anxiety-defuser and an unusually well done double-debut. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9799746-2-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flashlight Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2009
Approachable and comfortably predictable.
A young ghost arrives at Scare School.
Unlike big sister Bella, late bloomer Bash has never been good at “all the GHOST STUFF.” Dad’s sure that Scare School is just what Bash needs. Bash isn’t so certain; he’s intimidated by his classmates and teachers. But he perks up when he meets his roommate, Itsy, a smart, welcoming spider, though he vows to steer clear of mean-spirited Vlad and Vicky. Still, the dreaded Creature Aptitude Test worries Bash. To pass, he must pass through solid objects and turn himself invisible—skills he struggles with. Bash doesn’t want to be kicked out of school, so he’ll have to buckle down. With Itsy’s help and encouragement from his classmates, Bash realizes he’s more capable than he thought. Written in first person from endearingly anxious Bash’s point of view, the book has a diarylike feel. The text is presented in a handwritten font, while grayscale cartoon illustrations are peppered throughout. The supportive, sincere friendship between Bash and Itsy is the most compelling part of the story. Letters between Bash and Bella shed further light on Bash’s personality and their relationship. Though the book’s takeaway—believe in yourself, and you can do anything—is a familiar one, it’s just what many children need…and who better to deliver the message than an adorably nervous ghost?
Approachable and comfortably predictable. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665922098
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Frightful and delightful: a comforting (to some, anyway) reminder that no one sleeps alone.
In a tardy prequel to I Need My Monster (2009), candidates for that coveted spot under the bed audition.
As the distressingly unflappable young narrator looks on, one monster after another gives it a go—but even with three mouths, the best roar Genghis can manage is a puny “blurp!”, silly shadow puppets by shaggy Morgan elicit only a sneeze, and red Abigail’s attempt to startle by hiding in the fridge merely leaves her shivering and pathetic. Fortunately, there’s Gabe, who knows just how to turn big and hairy while lurking outside the bathroom and whose red-eyed stare and gross drooling sends the lad scrambling into bed to save his toes. “Kid, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” the toothy terror growls. Right he is, the lad concludes, snuggling down beneath the covers: “His snorts and ooze were perfect.” As usual, the white-presenting child’s big, bright, smiling face and the assortment of bumbling monsters rendered in oversaturated hues keep any actual scariness at tentacle’s length. Moreover, Monster, Inc. fans will delight in McWilliam’s painstaking details of fang, claw, hair, and scales.
Frightful and delightful: a comforting (to some, anyway) reminder that no one sleeps alone. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-947277-09-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flashlight Press
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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