MONSTER HUG!

With exuberantly posed figures and colors that don’t always stay within his thick, scribbly lines, Stein captures a true sense of abandon in this celebration of the joys of play. A few big words caption each activity, as dragon-like Scaly Monster and yeti-ish Hairy Monster meet for Monster Hide and Seek (a challenge when trees, and even mountains, are too small to hide behind), using full-sized construction machinery as toys in a Monster Battle, comparing stinky Monster Breath and other games—most of which leave their tiny surroundings a shambles. In a scale-changing scene, the much larger monster parents show up at last, and before thundering off to bed the toothy buddies exchange the titular clinch. All in all, the most unrestrained Wild Rumpus since Max stirred up the Wild Things. (Picture book. 4-6)