A boisterous roundup of creepy but friendly creatures with butt horns, multiple eyes, fuzz, and more.
A picture-book guide to fantastic island monsters.
Imagine a safari where instead of lions, giraffes, and ostriches, there is a creature called a Zabb: part eagle, part chimp, part crab, part chicken, and part beagle. In Emmons’ picture book, a cordial blue-skinned and green-eyed monster named Cornelius leads tours of the tropical and snowcapped Creepington Isle’s magnificent monsters. When arriving at the dock, never mind the tentacles, scales, and claws; the dapperly dressed Cornelius, in a blazer, button down, bowtie, and bowler hat, is a gracious host. Some monsters have onomatopoeic names that seem befitting, like the Yumbler, the Bammer, and the Gabble. Others have names that are a combination of their features, including the Bink (who has big, stinky feet) and the Slurm (a long, slime-loving worm). Some have names that just seem randomly nonsensical, such as the Bleephus, the Yopp, and the Zilla-Ma-Zong. Regular animals live there too, as squirrels, penguins, spiders, and butterflies are seen in the coconut trees and on the ice. (Kaijan, a giant flying chipmunk, seems out of place.) At the tour’s end, there’s a monster party, and Cornelius assures readers that “there’s nothing to fear.” The author’s rhyming descriptions are catchy and fun (“She munches on bicycles, fences and trees. She’ll eat a piano and spit out the keys!”); they complement Whitehead’s outlandish looking monsters, with their outlandish and occasionally gross traits. This rhyming jaunt through monsterland will surely invite giggles.
A boisterous roundup of creepy but friendly creatures with butt horns, multiple eyes, fuzz, and more.Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9798337511085
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
