A comedic appetite for destruction offers giggles galore.
A monster makes a mess of an idyllic island.
Godzilla customarily emerges from the sea off the coast of Japan. Here, it incongruously arrives in a distinctly European fairy-tale setting, an island whose residents include the Gingerbread Man, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack, climbing his beanstalk. Godzilla, it seems, has truly lost its way. The Gingerbread Man, who spots the monster first, cries, “GODZILLA! STOP! You’re in the wrong story!” But Godzilla won’t be deterred; its sole purpose in life is to STOMP. There’s little rhyme or reason to Godzilla’s antics, but each interaction is silly-scary and inevitably messy. The Gingerbread Man gets stuck on the sole of the beast’s enormous, sharp-clawed green foot; the reptilian behemoth bypasses the royal ball in favor of planting a satisfying squish on Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage. Most of the creature’s destruction is wanton and reckless, but one stomp proves unintentionally helpful. The witch from Hansel and Gretel loses her Candy House—“at least [she] won’t lure any more kids.” In Godzilla’s wake, the village is forever changed. Fans of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series and similar stories that celebrate the gleeful chaos of childhood will enjoy Godzilla’s nonstop, over-the-top stompfest, emphasized in detailed illustrations replete with active blasts of color and debris. Calm, collected, morally irreproachable preschoolers need not apply.
A comedic appetite for destruction offers giggles galore. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9798217245918
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
A charming continuation of a much-beloved series—and a clever tribute to the power of storytelling.
Scheherazade hasn’t got a thing on this sneaky mouse’s tale-telling talents.
The Gruffalo—the furry, yellow-eyed creature readers may remember from Donaldson and Scheffler’s classic work of the same name—and his daughter receive notice that Gruffalo Granny will soon be coming for a visit. This calls for a special meal, but what to serve? Ultimately, the Gruffalos decide to snatch up that same mouse who dodged their hungry tummies in the first book. When the mouse is informed that they intend to pop him in a stew, he acquiesces but asks if he can tell a story first. As in The Thousand and One Nights, the mouse leaves his tale unfinished each evening; the Gruffalos let him live so they can hear what happens. By night, the mouse gnaws on the bars of his cage. Eventually, there’s a happy ending, not just for the mouse but for the Gruffalos as well (Granny has different tastes than expected). Donaldson’s gently rhyming text will have readers as rapt as the Gruffalo and his child. Featuring saturated colors and characters who are utterly sweet for all their fangs and claws, Scheffler’s artwork hasn’t changed a jot since the Mouse and Gruffalo first met. References to the creators’ previous works provide delightful easter eggs for fans.
A charming continuation of a much-beloved series—and a clever tribute to the power of storytelling. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9798217238736
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2026
A wandering effort, happy but pointless.
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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