THE SHY CREATURES

Homage or knock-off? It’s often a tough call, and this catalog of imaginary creatures offers no easy answer. Mack’s illustrations have a decidedly familiar look from the way that individual characters are drawn to the composition of the double-page spreads. The fish in its bowl, for example, and the way the nameless heroine perches atop a pile of water glasses each evoke a particular illustration by Dr. Seuss. The similarity extends to the general style—illustrations have black outlines, a relatively limited palette of colors and white backgrounds. The rhyming text, meanwhile, gallops along interminably, imagining how a shy little girl with a fondness for misunderstood monsters might minister to the ills of Bigfoot, Pegasus, the Cyclops and others. The varied placement of the text also mimics Dr. Seuss’s style. Unfortunately, Mack’s book ultimately lacks the most Seussian attribute of all—imagination. The predicaments the creatures get into are predictable, and the shy little girl’s personality falls flat. Skip this, however well-intentioned, and stick with the source of Mack’s inspiration instead. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-6)