TWO MONSTERS

McKee's picture book about two monsters who disagree cleverly shows children how much better it is to communicate with each other. McKee, author and film animator, has created two monsters who are appealing in their shortsightedness. The blue monster lives on the west side of a mountain, and the red monster lives on the east side. They talk to each other through a hole in the mountain, but all they do is disagree. One says the day is departing; the other says no, the night is arriving. One says the night is leaving and the other disagrees, claiming that the day is arriving. They call each other names--""You hairy, long-nosed nincompoop!""; ""You're a stupid old wind-filled prone!""; ""And you are a bowlegged, soggy cornflake!""--and then start throwing stones at each other. Soon, their rock-hurling results in smashing down the mountain, and they see each other for the very first time. And, finally, they can see each other's viewpoints: they end up enjoying watching the sunset together. McKee's goofy-looking monsters and their creative insults make this an engaging little story.