As funny and as exquisitely put together as Edmond Bigsnout himself.
Lone wolf Edmond Bigsnout sets off from his country home to kill and eat a “city bunny”—and becomes enmeshed in a life-altering adventure.
From the start, the text and the masterful, mixed-media artwork are both funny and suspenseful. The elegantly dressed wolf strides across the autumn-tree–studded initial pages, sharp knife in carefully manicured paw, as he heads for his urban craving: “a grain-fed, silky-haired rabbit, one with just a hint of sweetness.” The wolf rides his bike to the city, soon finding an apartment building with a promising tenant for his culinary desires: “Max Omatose, miniature rabbit, 5th floor.” In his haste to reach said floor, Edmond leaves his knife in the elevator, where it is soon appropriated by a third-floor turkey. Edmond pedals back to the country, this time grabbing his chain saw. Each time he arrives with a different sinister tool, some other resident, thinking Edmond is a new tenant, gratefully borrows the tool. (Edmond may be bloodthirsty, but he is unfailingly polite.) By the time he has lugged a barbecue to the apartment house, the hungry lone wolf is greeted by the most come-hither–looking lupine lady in picture-book history: Miss Eyestopper. Edmond is still determined to eat that rabbit, but fate steps in and ensures a happy ending for everyone.
As funny and as exquisitely put together as Edmond Bigsnout himself. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5482-7
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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