A little patience and plenty of creativity result in a recipe for a yummy success!
The famous chef Pierre du Monstère and Grandmonster say, “A baker always rises to the occasion,” but will granddaughter Tillie?
Grandmonster makes the best desserts, like Key Slime Pie, Screech Cobbler, and Double-Sludge Brownies, and is teaching Tillie to bake. So when Dad announces that tomorrow is Grandmonster’s 247th birthday, Tillie decides to bake a Squirmin’ Chocolate Cake. “Two cups of frankenflour, one stick of booter, thirteen squirmy worms, a teaspoon of shaking powder.” The result is “magnifique!”—until Uncle Harry, unaware that the cake is for Grandmonster’s birthday, gobbles it up. In a hurry to whip up a second cake, Tillie makes a mess and plenty of mistakes. Her next cake squirms out of the kitchen, “through Slimes Square, past the Museum of Monster Art, and all the way to the edge of Tentacle Park.” Tillie is discouraged, but Dad offers some reassuring words. Tillie finds a way to save the day, incorporating her past culinary mistakes with some kitchen leftovers. The results may not be perfect, but, as Tillie and readers realize, that’s more than OK. Creative food names contain plenty of giggle-inducing puns, and the bright illustrations add to the fun. With her oversized head and tiny limbs and tail, Tillie is more endearing than grotesque, and the concoctions are disgustingly hilarious. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A little patience and plenty of creativity result in a recipe for a yummy success! (recipe for Chocolate Cherry Scaries) (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781250828323
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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