monsters

Book Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

| Tasha

monster calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd, illustrated by Jim Kay

Released September 27, 2011.

Conor awoke at 12:07, just after midnight, from his nightmare, the one he had been having for years.  Then he realized that something was calling his name.  It was a monster, but not the monster from his dreams.  It was another monster, a monster who came walking to tell him three stories and then Conor had to tell him the fourth and final story.  And it had to be the truth.  Conor had not told anyone the truth for some time, not since his mother had first gotten sick.  Now she was worse again.  So Conor turned to the monster in the hopes that he could save her, that that was what had brought the monster walking.

Ness has created a powerful book from the final idea that Siobhan Dowd left before she died.  It is gut wrenching on so many levels.  You have a monster who is breathtakingly real, a boy who is disappearing into his mother’s illness, and a story of cancer and all of the feelings and emotions it creates and doesn’t allow to be expressed.  This is a book about the time before the loss, the anguish of the waiting, the hollowness not only inside the surviving family but around them as well, and the anger that is a part of grief too. 

Ness does not duck away from anything difficult here, rather he explores it in ways I haven’t seen before.  He takes the darkness and makes it real, makes it honest, creates truth from it and lays it all bare.  It is a book that is difficult to read but too compelling to put down.

Kay’s art runs throughout the book, framing the text.  It helps create a mood for the entire work, one of darkness and lightness too.   He plays with such darkness in his art here that it is sometimes a matter of black and blacker.  The art, done just in black and white, speaks to the power of the monster, the blaze of life, and the fragility of it as well.

I simply can’t say enough good things about this book.  It is a stunning work that truly does tribute to Siobhan Dowd’s idea.  Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from ARC received from Candlewick Press.

Also reviewed by:

The Great Monster Hunt

| Tasha

616XghCjZBL

The Great Monster Hunt by Norbert Landa and Time Warnes

Duck is awoken early in the morning by a strange sound coming from under her bed.  It was a pshh pshh sound.  Duck did not know what it was and was too scared to look under the bed.  So instead she jumped out of bed and ran to get help.  Yelling out of her window, Duck called to Pig and told him what she had heard.  Pig ran to get someone stronger than he to deal with it.  When he found Bear, he told Bear that the noise was pshh pshh Bang Bang!  Bear suggested they find someone loud enough to deal with the noise that was being made and they went to find Wolf.  Wolf was told about the noise that had gotten even more complicated by that point, and he suggested that they find someone smart to deal with it.  So off they all went to Owl.  The four animals returned to Duck’s house with supplies to fight the monster, but it is not a monster they find under Duck’s bed!  It’s a tiny mouse snoring quietly with a pshh pshh sound.

This book has just the right amount of tension for young children to get involved but not alarmed.  The build up of the noise from one animal to the next demonstrates the problems with getting news through the grapevine and how things can be blown way out of proportion!  Even if children do not get this lesson from the book, it is a fun comedy of errors for them to enjoy.  The illustrations are very friendly with small touches like Wolf’s record player and Owl’s newspaper that add to the gentleness of the story. 

A great book to mix into a monster story time just for the effect of the lack of a monster.   This is also a great Halloween read for the youngest listeners.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Mostly Monsterly

| Tasha

7172048

Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Scott Magoon

Bernadette had claws, a tail, fangs, and pointy ears.  She was a monster.  She caused all sorts of mayhem, but underneath she was different.  She liked flowers, kittens, and baking treats.  So Bernadette was nervous to go to school with the other monsters.  Her niceness did not fit in with the group well.  She asked for a group hug and got glares.  She sang a sweet song and someone ate her microphone.  Even her cupcakes with sprinkles get the monsters to turn tail and run.  How was she going to make friends?  Bernadette had a plan, a very monsterly, yet sweet one. 

Sauer nicely turns the pink and princessy on its head with this small blue monster.  The mix of sweet and monster is a winning one, nicely cleansing the saccharine that can accumulate from too many pink sparkly picture books.  Sauer has a great sense of humor that is on display in her title.   The things that the monster children hope are in the box as treats are silly and great fun.  Sauer does not limit herself to normal picture book words in a any way.  Make way for slobber, conquer and dismantle, among others.  Magoon’s illustrations offer plenty of monster styles and types for the reader to gape at.  None of the monsters are frightening.  This is a funny book and the illustrations stay in that style as well.  They are bright, intriguing and silly.  Bernadette is a monster we can all relate to, thanks in large part to the way she is depicted in the illustrations.

A book that celebrates our diversity and differences, this is a great monster book to add to your not-so-scary stories pile.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon and Schuster.

Check out the trailer:

Mostly Monsterly Book Trailer

If You’re a Monster and You Know It

| Tasha

71030123

If You’re a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley

A great pick for a preschool Halloween party, this book will have kids wiggling and giggling to the silly monster movements.  Set to the same song as If You’re Happy and You Know It, children will immediately be able to sing right along.  Children will be growling, snapping their claws, stomping their paws, and twitching their tails along with the monsters in the book.  Those monsters are done in neon-bright colors against a black background, creating a very dynamic book for children to enjoy.  I recommend finishing up with some black paper and bright colored scraps and letting the children create their own monsters to take home.

Completely child friendly, this book will have even the most reluctant listeners paying attention and playing along.  Happily, the song takes more enthusiasm than skill, so everyone can join in and not have to worry.  The Emberleys have created a book that fills a niche in story times, a monster book that is non-scary but not babyish.  What a treat!

Appropriate for ages 2-4.  Make sure to have this one in your trick-or-treat bag for fall!

You can listen to the song here.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Broom, Zoom!

| Tasha

51dSLqXTzCL

Broom, Zoom! by Caron Lee Cohen, illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier

What is to be done when Little Witch and Little Monster both need to use one broom at the same time?  Little Witch notices the full moon and heads inside for the broom.  Little Monster needs to use it right then.  Little Witch still wants the broom, but when Little Monster shows her the mess, she lets him use it first.  She even helps him clean things up.  Now it’s Little Witch’s turn to use the broom to fly in the sky.  She invites Little Monster to fly with her, though he’s not really sure he wants to fly at all.

Told in very brief text that is entirely conversation, this book is a winner for young children. Spare and minimal, the text still manages to tell a clear story about sharing and taking turns.  Yet it never becomes didactic at all.  Ruzzier’s illustrations are bright, clear and vibrantly colored.  There is no white space here, just a saturated palette that makes for a compelling visual.

Highly recommended, this is a very sweet Halloween story that is sure to appeal to toddlers who are looking for monsters and witches with no scare.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from book received from Simon & Schuster.

Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World

| Tasha

Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Dan Santat

It all started when a smart girl builds a giant robot as a science project.  When it goes on a rampage, she realizes all of the features that she should have included and ones that it definitely should not have, like the laser eye.  She also realizes that it is up to her to stop it.  She tries to communicate with it, but when that and hitting it fail, she comes up with another solution.  She builds a gigantic toad programmed to destroy the robot.  And it works!  Now just to solve the problem of what can stop a giant toad…

Riotously funny, this book is a brilliant tribute to the monster flicks of the 1950s.  Barnett’s dry, understated text heightens the drama and action of the story.  Santat’s illustrations pay homage to vintage comics in the colors and stylings, but remain firmly modern too.  The illustrations are worth lingering over, especially the many and varied signs shown throughout the city, some in Chinese letters, strengthening that tie to monster movies. 

This is a picture book worth sharing with a wide range of ages, even young teens who may have seen some of the type of movies this book references.  Happily cheesy, wonderfully funny, this book is extraordinary.

Reviewed from library copy.

Do Not Build a Frankenstein!

| Tasha

Do Not Build a Frankenstein! by Neil Numberman

A little boy dashes up and tells a group of children that they must never build a Frankenstein!  It takes an immense amount of time and effort.  At first, it might seem like fun to have your own monster to play with, but then it just becomes annoying.  They will break your toys and scare your pets.  They want constant attention and are very needy.  Because they won’t take a hint and leave you alone, you are then forced to move to a new town.  And just when you think that that might work, they show up with very unexpected results!

Numberman has created a Frankenstein that is so far from frightening and so very funny.  The big green body atop spindly legs are ridiculous in the best sense.  Then you add in the googly eyes and patchwork and he becomes a lovable monster.  The illustrations are vibrantly colored, and have a great sense of movement.  The pacing of the story itself is fast and almost breathless.  When reading it aloud, make sure to save enough breath for the shouts of warning about building a Frankenstein!

A very loud, fresh picture book that is all about friendship and fun.  Perfect for sharing at storytimes as that final special book.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

How to Potty Train Your Monster

| Tasha

How to Potty Train Your Monster by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Mike Moon.

In a handy step-by-step format, readers find out the dangers and difficulties of potty training a monster.  You have to make sure your monster is ready (most should be 7 feet tall).  You have to get him a giant potty chair because he is too big for the normal toilet.  And the book ends with the joys of monster underwear as an incentive.  Parents will immediately see that this book is about children being potty trained, but children may be too caught up in the monster humor to feel any pressure themselves.

The tone here is just right, allowing children to laugh about learning to use the potty.  The humor is physical, potty humor that all children will hoot about.  The unexpected twists and turns in potty training are showed to monstrous proportions and great effect.  Moon’s illustrations bring to life a bright-colored menagerie of monsters with silly befitting names.  Their google-eyed furriness is much more funny than frightening.

A great example of a potty book that is not saccharine or dull.  I’ve potty trained two monsters myself, so I know that every word here is true!  Appropriate for 2-4 year olds.  Older children will enjoy the humor and hopefully will not need the potty tips.

Reviewed from library copy.

I Need My Monster

| Tasha

I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll, illustrated by Howard McWilliam

When Ethan checks under his bed, he finds a note from his monster:

Gone Fishing.  Back in a week. –Gabe

Ethan needed a monster under his bed to sleep.  He missed the ragged breathing, the sound of claws on the floor, and the green ooze.  So Ethan taps on the floor and waits.  A series of monsters appears, each one missing one of the important qualities Ethan needs.  Finally, after rejecting his fourth monster, Gabe returns to fill Ethan’s sleep with his own special scariness.

This clever book could have been trite and contrived, but instead is filled with good humor and vivid monster characters.  As one monster after another appears, they stay distinct and unique from one another.  Each is visually different, but they also have different speech patterns, making them a treat to read aloud.

McWilliam’s illustrations done in pencil with digital acrylic paint are vivid and will appeal to fans of Pixar films since they have a similar quality.  McWilliam uses interesting perspectives and demonstrates a lot of humor in his work.  A perfect pairing with the text.

This book is ideal for pajama story times because the monsters are frightening but great fun.  It reads aloud well and offers readers a great range of voices and sound effects.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.