Share this lively tale of bighearted friendship and originality with young readers needing a little zest for life. A...
Chloe finds herself once again with a cliffhanger of a problem (Crafty Chloe, 2012). And it involves her two best friends. Can her creative powers get her out of this pickle?
DiPucchio’s story is filled with entertaining drama and deadpan hilarity. The Parade of Books is a costumed event at school, and Chloe is torn between the ideas of two very best but very different friends. Leo and Chloe are planning to go as Frankenstein and Dracula. But Emma, at their weekly spa day, says they should be Fairy Club fairies and is horrified at Chloe’s plan. “ ‘You’re going to be a MONSTER?’ Emma’s oatmeal mask cracked.” Chloe begins the herculean task of finding a solution to this predicament. The text provides painful insight into the creative process, and Ross’ digitally colored pencil drawings capture this charismatic spirit. Chloe’s frustration is palpable as she dons her winter coat and hat on a beautiful sunny day, hoping a snow day might cancel the impending festivities. With pacing that mimics the first installment, the book gives Chloe a down-to-the-wire moment of inspiration; she begins fussing and fixing through the night. The last page shows Chloe’s creative genius, reflecting it in the adoration of her best friends’ eyes.
Share this lively tale of bighearted friendship and originality with young readers needing a little zest for life. A corresponding website provides crafting ideas and instructions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2124-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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