Cartoonist and TV writer Kaplan delivers a witty, tightly controlled picture-book debut brimming with humor. Henry and Eve are “two perfectly delightful children…going through a TERRIBLE phase.” In short, they are big whiners and are undeterred when their father delivers the titular warning that “monsters eat whiny children.” Sure enough, a bevy of monsters arrives on the scene ready to cook them up, but it turns out that they are rather whiny too and can’t decide how to prepare the children. Whiny-child salad? Burgers? Cake? Vindaloo? At this last suggestion the text assumes a true New Yorker–cartoon vibe asserting, “sometimes it’s so hard to figure out if you’re in the mood for Indian food.” By book’s end the children redeem themselves by helping the indecisive, bereft monsters overcome their bickering, and they escape through a window leaving the monsters to enjoy cucumber sandwiches (recipe included). Throughout the book, ample white space offsets energetic, expressive line drawings expertly highlighted with retrained use of color. There’s nothing to whine about here. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4169-8689-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Chilling in the best ways.
When a young rabbit who’s struggling in school finds a helpful crayon, everything is suddenly perfect—until it isn’t.
Jasper is flunking everything except art and is desperate for help when he finds the crayon. “Purple. Pointy…perfect”—and alive. When Jasper watches TV instead of studying, he misspells every word on his spelling test, but the crayon seems to know the answers, and when he uses the crayon to write, he can spell them all. When he faces a math quiz after skipping his homework, the crayon aces it for him. Jasper is only a little creeped out until the crayon changes his art—the one area where Jasper excels—into something better. As guilt-ridden Jasper receives accolade after accolade for grades and work that aren’t his, the crayon becomes more and more possessive of Jasper’s attention and affection, and it is only when Jasper cannot take it anymore that he discovers just what he’s gotten himself into. Reynolds’ text might as well be a Rod Serling monologue for its perfectly paced foreboding and unsettling tension, both gentled by lightly ominous humor. Brown goes all in to match with a grayscale palette for everything but the purple crayon—a callback to black-and-white sci-fi thrillers as much as a visual cue for nascent horror readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Chilling in the best ways. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6588-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A spellbinding tale that encourages readers to accept—and celebrate—what makes us different.
A bespectacled young witch longs for a cat but ends up with something unexpected.
Though Wilma is excited for her first feline pet, when she goes to the Beast Buddies Pet Shop there are no more cats; instead, she is offered a wombat. She begrudgingly takes the dumpy, snoozy chum but worries: “Everyone else brings cats to school. Cats have been friends to witches for centuries. What a cat-tastrophe!” Unfortunately, Wombat is afraid of heights, which makes mastering Broom-Flying Basics a challenge; can’t perch on the edge of a cauldron during Brewing Potions for Beginners; and doesn’t stay in the required spell boundary zone, causing a spell to go disastrously wrong. Wilma is so frustrated she wishes Wombat would disappear. And Wombat does just that—by burrowing deep into the ground. Sprinkled with wombat facts (Wilma’s remembering that wombat scat is cube-shaped helps her follow a trail of poop to find her pal), this is a winning testament to true friendship. Wilma sets aside her assumptions of what a witch’s companion should look like and realizes just how wonderful Wombat truly is. This is a not-so-spooky tale perfect for Halloween and beyond. Wilma has bluish-black hair and pale skin among a diverse class. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A spellbinding tale that encourages readers to accept—and celebrate—what makes us different. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780593569634
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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