Endearing and good-hearted.
Based on a tale by the Sufi mystic Rumi, this oversized picture book adroitly calms a child’s fear of monsters through some creative parental problem-solving.
Young Amir, toothbrush in hand, stalls at bedtime, imagining a monster with huge teeth who doubtlessly wants to eat him. His dad suggests that Amir growl like a tiger to scare the monster away and offers to intervene with a frying pan—but Amir conjures up monster parents with a larger frying pan. The scenario escalates, with Amir’s mom intrepidly charging in with an umbrella and the monster parents retaliating. Finally, Amir's parents offer coffee and sweets to their counterparts; while they chat, Amir shares his toy cars with his new monster friend, Grobblechops. Thus appeased, Amir settles down for the night in his cozy bed, holding his teddy bear close. But his dad leaves the door open, just a little, to let “a bit of light” in. The kinesthetic, splattery quality of the illustrations draws young eyes to the story, and the slightly off-kilter orientation of many of the scenes adds a sense of appropriately disorienting whimsy. The reassurance offered by Amir’s parents proves a comforting salve for a common childhood anxiety. Amir and his parents have brown skin and black hair.
Endearing and good-hearted. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-910328-41-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiny Owl
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
In time for Halloween, a BOO-k about a ghost that young readers will enjoy.
What can a ghost do when she’s lost her boo?
Little Ghost has a dilemma. Attempting to frighten an unsuspecting human (who presents White), she finds to her dismay that, instead of her signature sound, only “a rush of cold air” escapes her mouth. Mama Ghost sympathizes but fears her child’s “fright nights are done.” Not one to give up easily, Little Ghost launches a search. She encounters her friends Owl, Pigeon, and Rooster, whose sounds are all similar to “Boo”; unable to join Little Ghost in her search for her boo, they offer to lend her their cries. She declines, explaining that, while the calls are perfect for them, they aren’t as scary as hers. She finally heads home, despondent, and meets another pal whose voice resembles her own. In an unexpected concluding twist, Little Ghost locates the friend she most needs, the one who will assuredly help reclaim her boo-tiful sound. This cute but thin rhyming New Zealand import will appeal to ghost fans; they’ll definitely want to comply—loudly—with the final instruction. The jaunty rhyming couplets mostly succeed but are sometimes awkward. Illustrations and white text type pop against saturated turquoise backgrounds. Occasionally, certain words and onomatopoeic sounds, such as the animals’ calls, are capitalized and appear in display type for dramatic effect. Chubby Little Ghost is amorphous, winsome, and wide eyed. Her pals have a bright, folk art–y appearance.
In time for Halloween, a BOO-k about a ghost that young readers will enjoy. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-20215-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Funny though the illustrations are and loving though the text is, the book falls short due to lack of nuance.
Unabashed sentimentality dominates the text in this loving promise from a father to his child.
What saves this title from being just a syrupy pronouncement are the characters. Santat has good fun creating scenes for two hairy, horned monsters, the dad pickle green and the child a pleasing purple. The somewhat cuddly pair is comically shown participating in their less-than-ordinary activities like “having spaghetti for breakfast, French toast for dinner, and rocky road ice cream in the bathtub.” They play with robots, listen to really loud music, burp like champions and miss school to visit New York to share a hot dog. Readers will smile at the low-key humor in the pictures. The page stating, “Because I’m your dad, you can sometimes stay up late with me to watch TV” depicts the father asleep while the child sits on the sofa terrified by what is on the screen. Warm moments abound, as when little monster is rolled up by her father in a blanket like a burrito or when the dad checks the closet and under the bed for monsters. Zappa wrote this story for his daughter, and it overflows with genuine fatherly affection that he would like to pass on, since his father (avant-garde rocker Frank Zappa) did the same for him.
Funny though the illustrations are and loving though the text is, the book falls short due to lack of nuance. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-4774-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
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