A playful story of youthful imagination that emphasizes taking responsibility.
In this picture book, a child blames a monster for his disruptive behavior.
A brown-skinned boy explains that there’s a monster in the house who causes “chaos, fuss and RUCKUS!” For instance, the monster jumps on the kid’s bed, ransacks his belongings, eats the Halloween candy, and dunks a ball in the toilet. But when the monster starts drawing all over the walls and windows, he trips, stumbles down the stairs, and noisily breaks a vase. The boy begins crying, and Mommy rushes in. Though the illustrations show that the youngster was actually the troublemaker all along, he blames the commotion on a scary interloper. But Mommy isn’t convinced. She surveys the mess and “finds no monster who’d confess.” After escorting her child to the kitchen for dinner, she instructs: “Eat up little monster.” Dee’s silly but amusing tale features common mishaps that parents and mischievous kids will relate to. Although the boy doesn’t actually admit he caused the turmoil, the story will still remind young readers about the importance of assuming responsibility. Lock’s pleasant, vivid cartoon illustrations show the various misdeeds. Bold colors and textured pages enhance the images that portray the monster. When the narrator describes the intruder’s actions, the illustrations show a creepy figure with a pink, bumpy head.
A playful story of youthful imagination that emphasizes taking responsibility.Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-08-797986-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Boomi LLC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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BOOK REVIEW
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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