Frightfully funny.
In their second collaborative parody, Walton and Hale join forces under the pen name of “Ludworst Bemonster” to create a comic tale combining elements of the Frankenstein story, “The Night Before Christmas” and the classic Madeline.
Twelve young monsters live in an old Victorian house with their guardian, Miss Devel, a mad-scientist sort with a white lab coat and safety goggles. On Christmas Eve, Santa attempts to deliver presents to the little monsters. Due to the deteriorating nature of the old mansion, Santa and the reindeer fall through the roof, and out of his sack come raining new heads for all the monsters but young Frankenstein. He tells Santa that he would like to learn to fly as his gift, so all the monsters pile into the sleigh for a trip to the North Pole. The text loosely follows the structure of “The Night Before Christmas” with an occasional line from Madeline. (“Something’s not right!”) There’s lots of humor: monsters switching heads and wetting beds, a Christmas tree decorated with snakes and bones, and plenty of pratfalls and crashes. Echoing the style of Bemelmans, most illustrations use a limited palette of gray and lime-green with splashes of red for Santa and his sleigh. Children do not have to be familiar with Madeline or even Frankenstein to get the humor; slapstick comedy needs little introduction.
Frightfully funny. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-312-55367-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
When Scaredy Squirrel plans a party, he concentrates on maximum security, not maximum fun. His checklist: "Confirm date of birth; pick a safe location; choose party colors; get tuxedo dry-cleaned; prepare cake recipe; practice breathing (to blow up balloons/blow out candles); mail party invitation to myself." That's right—there’s only one guest at Scaredy's birthday party, and it's himself. But when his chum Buddy sends him a birthday card, he reconsiders his guest list to include his pal, even making the momentous decision to hold his party on the ground instead of in his tree. Replete with the lists and diagrams that are this OCD rodent's hallmarks, the story unfolds with both humor and some useful etiquette tips. From conversational gambits (good: "If you were a tree, what type of tree would you be?"; bad: "Is that a muskrat on your head? Oops... it's a toupee") to the "dos and don'ts of partying" (do: sit quietly; don't: double-dip), kids will find much to laugh at and think about. Typically (for a Scaredy adventure), despite a plan so complete it includes tooth-brushing breaks, a surprise happens—party animals show up! Watt’s wry digital illustrations make the most of the perceived mayhem, using a host of graphic conventions to tell her story. There's no question it's a formula by now, but it's still a winning one. Many happy returns, Scaredy. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55453-468-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
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BOOK REVIEW
Chilling in the best ways.
When a young rabbit who’s struggling in school finds a helpful crayon, everything is suddenly perfect—until it isn’t.
Jasper is flunking everything except art and is desperate for help when he finds the crayon. “Purple. Pointy…perfect”—and alive. When Jasper watches TV instead of studying, he misspells every word on his spelling test, but the crayon seems to know the answers, and when he uses the crayon to write, he can spell them all. When he faces a math quiz after skipping his homework, the crayon aces it for him. Jasper is only a little creeped out until the crayon changes his art—the one area where Jasper excels—into something better. As guilt-ridden Jasper receives accolade after accolade for grades and work that aren’t his, the crayon becomes more and more possessive of Jasper’s attention and affection, and it is only when Jasper cannot take it anymore that he discovers just what he’s gotten himself into. Reynolds’ text might as well be a Rod Serling monologue for its perfectly paced foreboding and unsettling tension, both gentled by lightly ominous humor. Brown goes all in to match with a grayscale palette for everything but the purple crayon—a callback to black-and-white sci-fi thrillers as much as a visual cue for nascent horror readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Chilling in the best ways. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6588-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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BOOK REVIEW
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PERSPECTIVES
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