Tasty and homegrown, this hits a strange and specific trifecta: a lightly bilingual book that feels inclusive not only for...
A young boy who happens to be undead reveals himself as a vegetarian to parents who are not about to stop eating people parts.
Mo, a greenish, bespectacled kid, has an idea to share his love of the veggies he grows in secret: He’ll make a bloody-looking gazpacho, one that might fool mom and dad into appreciating tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and cilantro. The gambit fails. But even if the rotting folks can’t accept heaps of vegetables in their diet, they can learn to honor their son’s dietary desires. That’s an admirable message, but what really creeps up on readers is the Laceras’ deep sense of fun. Gravestone puns are to be expected, but to sneak in a reference to Jonathan Saffron Gore hits all the right geek buttons, at least for the kind of parent who’d gravitate to a zombie-themed picture book. And while understated, the family’s effortless use of occasional Spanish phrases (“arm-panadas”!) in a primarily English-speaking household feels true. The Spanish-language version (translated by Yanitzia Canetti) has its own specific jokes and reads just as smart and funny. The artwork throughout manages to make zombie-grown produce look appealing.
Tasty and homegrown, this hits a strange and specific trifecta: a lightly bilingual book that feels inclusive not only for Latinx kids, but also for different eaters and for those who aren’t afraid of gory, monster-themed humor. (recipes) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62014-794-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
The book’s potential utility in helping children cope with irrational fears is undermined by its absence of a credible story.
La La Land is populated by scaredy-cat monsters.
According to the narrator, when bubbles pop, they reappear in La La Land, home of some remarkably uninspired-looking (and -named) monsters. Monsters who are terrified of bubbles. A bubble-gum bubble once popped on the face of a monster named Mogo, and his subsequent fright is the rather weak basis for the collective monster bubblephobia. As Mogo attempts to spread comical misinformation about bubbles, the narrator (who speaks to both the characters and readers) instructs readers to ignore him. A pace-crushing spread of haphazard facts about La La Land comes across as filler to bring this very slight effort up to 32 pages. In the end, the narrator convinces the monsters to face their fears using their fearsome physical qualities. Salmieri does his best, placing hairy, toothy monsters against a black background; a monster called Wumpus looks a little like Sendak’s horned Wild Thing. The final illustration, with the three smaller monsters astride their larger friend fleeing in apparent terror from a monarch butterfly, may be the funniest part of this book.
The book’s potential utility in helping children cope with irrational fears is undermined by its absence of a credible story. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-04549-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For fans of cumulative rhymes and monsters of all sorts.
In a “House That Jack Built” tale that exemplifies the butterfly effect, some costumed kids who shout “Trick or treat!” cause havoc at a house full of monsters.
The children wake up the vampire, who trips on his feet and stuns a witch stirring a cauldron. This spooks a ghost, “Boo!” who startles a zombie, who screams and scatters the bats. This scares the black cat, who in turn terrifies Frankie. A skeleton, a werewolf, a spider, and a mummy round out the Halloween cast. Four of these creatures are involved in actually building the house (which is more than the original rhyme). Metzger’s verses have a nice rhythm to them, and the end rhymes work, though it may take quite a few readings before children can join in. The illustrations are done in a scratchy style with black and white featuring prominently and pops of poison green and shades of purple and red. The bugged eyes, wide-open mouths with lots of sharp teeth, and evident fear make this one to share with slightly older children.
For fans of cumulative rhymes and monsters of all sorts. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-61112-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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