A playful nod to difficult mornings.
A group of impish monsters frustrates a child’s morning routine.
Bartholomew enjoys the monsters that visit nightly—the book opens with a nod to Maurice Sendak as the monsters dance with Bartholomew in a “wild rumpus”—but they are making things difficult in the mornings. The black-and-white illustration on the book’s title page captures the source of the chaos: One monster swallows Bartholomew’s alarm clock. Now in Technicolor, the monsters linger in Bartholomew’s home until morning and intensify the mischief during the child’s morning routine, disrupting tooth-brushing, shoe-tying, breakfast, and even urinating (one monster scares Bartholomew at the toilet, which results in a yellow puddle on the bathroom floor). The wide-eyed monsters, depicted in bright, saturated colors and with rounded shapes, are goofy and fun-loving, never truly frightening. Two of the most meddlesome (small enough to wreak havoc by hiding in toothpaste tubes) are merely fluffy orange and yellow balls of fluff on legs. When Bartholomew breaks down in defeat and tears, Dad saves the day with composure: “Let’s sort you out, Bartholomew.” It can be hard for any child to get going in the mornings, whether the monsters are real or imagined, but when a trusted caregiver can step in to redirect, tears turn to smiles (even if one miniature monster hides in Bartholomew’s backpack, hinting at more mayhem to come). Bartholomew and Dad are depicted with light skin and straight, black hair.
A playful nod to difficult mornings. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-908714-84-8
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Cicada Books
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
A visual and emotional symphony.
A tiger, with some unusual help, fights off a nightmare.
Tiger’s parents don’t quite believe that the reason she carries extra curry or tacos from the supper table to her bedroom is because she has a monster under her bed, but it’s true. Monster was supposed to scare her long ago, but instead they play together nightly. Then, while Tiger sleeps, Monster scares away Tiger’s horned, multieyed, centipedelike nightmares—until a nightmare with a long-jawed white skull and a changeable, smoky body arrives. It conquers Monster and reaches Tiger. From now on, Tiger and Monster must work together. The plans they implement are brilliant and brave, and their hard-won victory (it takes a few tries) couldn’t be more triumphant, relieving, or empowering. Compositions range from full-bleed spreads to pages holding multiple sequential panels. Using watercolors and pencils, Tetri creates one color-world of inky blues (Monster; nighttime) and another of oranges and yellows (Tiger; daytime). The meanings of each color-world hold nuance and complexity: The nightmares are of the blue world, but so are coziness and small, dear Monster; Tiger’s victory explodes with warm colors like dawn, but she could only achieve it at night. Rich details enhance the setting inconspicuously: Tiger’s parents, also tigers, run a repair shop for flying cars; one parent is Dad while the other is of undesignated gender.
A visual and emotional symphony. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-535-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
A solid guidebook to shelve with similar tomes on caring for monsters, trolls, fairies, dragons, and the like.
Green’s picture-book debut is a guidebook that will be useful for anyone lucky enough to meet a ghost.
Indeed, the author stresses that you can look forever and not find a ghost, but if you are “sweet, warm, and kind…a ghost may find you.” The first section introduces a few “Ghost Basics” and do’s and don’ts. The second is devoted to “Ghost Care,” and it’s sure to garner the most Ewww’s from readers, especially when they read some of the things ghosts like to eat. “Growing Together,” the final section, addresses some of the issues you and your ghost will face as you grow up: moving to a new house, working, having a family, and growing old. The final illustration is poignant, as the girl pictured throughout is now a ghost herself, holding hands with her friend as they float over a new gravestone: “you’ll be friends even after the end.” The gouache, colored pencil, and digital illustrations have a sophisticated, rather adult aesthetic. The girl is more woman than child, and she is sometimes awkwardly portrayed, especially her ears and her expressions. Both she and the ghost are paper-white with pink cheeks, and the palette is limited to black, white, gray, brown, a rusty orange, and a pinkish red.
A solid guidebook to shelve with similar tomes on caring for monsters, trolls, fairies, dragons, and the like. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-91901-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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