BARTHOLOMEW AND THE MORNING MONSTERS

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.