Thomas Hobbes would approve of this yeti’s natural state, but perhaps he should go by his other name: abominable.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that yetis are big, hairy, emotional, flea-bitten, slug-eating, gas-blowing gross-outs.
They come at readers in couplets, these unsavory traits of the yeti that hides under the bed. Let it be known that not all yeti behaviors are disreputable: they enjoy baths if they can make a mess; if reminded, they brush their teeth; and they can shape-shift into chairs and rugs so mom doesn’t send them packing. But Freedman’s story is about celebrating the yeti’s grand bloopers. Don’t, for instance, bring him to school, even if he is equipped with a tiny backpack and tears in his eyes: “Of course when you tell him, ‘Off to school! Can’t be late!’ / he’ll beg to go with as your brand-new classmate.” (That couplet’s as curious as the yeti.) So the young white protagonist brings him to school, where, when he’s not gorming slugs on the playground, “he’ll make loud embarrassing noises—Phoo-eee!” Yes, that variety of windblast, for we have already covered eructation—“yetis say THANK YOU in BURPS!”—during the slobbering of breakfast. Ranucci endeavors to govern the proceedings with sweet-toned illustrations and party-cake colors, but when the topic is the yeti’s vast population of fleas, it’s best not to go too deep into the issue.
Thomas Hobbes would approve of this yeti’s natural state, but perhaps he should go by his other name: abominable. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1690-4
Page Count: 37
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
All-in-good-fun Halloween scares.
In NSYNC singer Bass’ debut picture book, trick-or-treaters follow their fearless leader down Scary Street in search of sweets, or so they think.
On Halloween night, a mischievous child dressed as a wolf, reminiscent of Max from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (1963), leads a large, racially diverse group of costumed children down Scary Street. The youngster, who narrates, proceeds to bring them to a series of creepy fun house–style homes, including a mansion belonging to a menacingly dapper vampire, who offers “toothy snacks” to the terrified-looking trick-or-treaters, and a gingerbread cottage inhabited by a Cruella de Vil–esque witch, who might prefer to bake little children into her house rather than give them treats. Uh-oh. Now there are only four children following the increasingly unreliable narrator, who ominously repeats, “No tricks allowed, just tasty treats.” As it turns out, the narrator does have a trick in store, which completes the scare and brings the story to a happy conclusion. Bass uses a simple, sometimes uneven rhyme pattern that ranges from interesting combinations (missed is rhymed with resist) to more familiar ones (treats/sweets) with a dash of tongue-in-cheek humor. Garrigue’s atmospheric illustrations have a Coney Island sideshow vibe, created with a candy palette that’s both invitingly tasty and garish in just the right way. The narrator, the vampire, and the witch are light-skinned.
All-in-good-fun Halloween scares. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 23, 2024
ISBN: 9781454952176
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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