Readers can have a monstrous good time, and not just at Halloween.
If readers think they know everything about monsters, they can guess again.
By checking out this zany field guide–like offering, monster mavens will learn lots about these creatures or enlarge their store of knowledge about them. Under the expert tutelage of professors Batula McFang, Blobbins, and Howlsworth and abetted by brains-loving Tina the Zombie, all of whom gamely escort readers through these pages, kids will pick up salient facts about monsters. These include types, diet, biology, habitats, history, and more—including tidbits about what monsters themselves fear the most and what they get up to under some people’s beds! The text’s silly conversational tone is comically tongue-in-cheek and should convince skittish younger readers that the book is meant to evoke chuckles, not shrieks. However, some slightly gross references may elicit an eww or two and/or, perhaps, a mild frisson of delighted shivers. Actual text is kept to a minimum per page, with charts, sidebars, and diagrams breaking up wordiness and heightening visual appeal. The lively, very colorful illustrations are imaginative and filled with raucous details that kids will love poring over. This title’s use in libraries may be limited by a full-page chart that resembles a checklist for kids to fill in and a removable “Monstronomy Diploma” at the end of the book.
Readers can have a monstrous good time, and not just at Halloween. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12280-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans.
It’s time to look for the elusive Daddysaurus.
In this latest installment in the seemingly never-ending series about a group of diverse kids attempting to trap mythical creatures, the youngsters are now on the lookout for a big mauve dinosaur with an emblazoned D on his stomach and a superhero cape. The fast-moving Daddysaurus is always on the go; he will be difficult to catch. Armed with blueprints of possible ideas, the kids decide which traps to set. As in previous works, ones of the sticky variety seem popular. They cover barbells with fly paper (Daddysaurus like to exercise) and spread glue on the handle of a shovel (Daddysaurus also likes to garden). One clever trick involves tempting Daddysaurus with a drawing of a hole, taped to the wall, because he fixes everything that breaks. Daddysaurus is certainly engaged in the children’s lives, not a workaholic or absent, but he does fall into some standard tropes associated with fathers. The rhyming quatrains stumble at times but for the most part bounce along. Overall, though, text and art feel somewhat formulaic and likely will tempt only devotees of the series. The final page of the book (after Daddysaurus is caught with love) has a space for readers to write a note or draw a picture of their own Daddysaurus. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72826-618-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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