Although this husband and wife team put forth a good effort, the characters have only mild appeal when compared to the likes...
Good friends Petal and Poppy alternate fears during Halloween night in their third series adventure.
Costumed as a horned, red, furry monster, rhino Poppy sneaks up on unsuspecting Petal to scare her. The incident leaves elephant Petal spooked and resistant to wearing a scary costume like her buddy. Poppy coaxes her into joining in, and Petal decides to dress up like a butterfly. Sharing a bicycle while on their way to a Halloween party, Petal is easily frightened by the costumed characters they encounter. Brave Poppy reminds Petal, “Do not be a scaredy-cat. They are only costumes.” A sudden crash leaves the pair stranded in front of a spooky house. Poppy is sure someone inside can help, but upon entering, Poppy’s nerve begins to weaken. (Petal remains outside.) While Poppy wanders inside, becoming increasingly frightened, a real ghost floats out to greet Petal. Thinking it is just a costume, Petal asks the creature for help fixing their bike. Clough’s use of repeated phrases will help build confidence in emergent readers, while Briant’s paneled cartoon illustrations ably show the swift and slightly comic role reversal. All ends well as creatures in costumes along with the real ghost gather at the Halloween party.
Although this husband and wife team put forth a good effort, the characters have only mild appeal when compared to the likes of Elephant and Piggie or Frog and Toad. (Graphic early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-33602-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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