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Monsters Eat Whiny Children (2010)

by Bruce Eric Kaplan(Favorite Author)

3.57 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1416986898 (ISBN13: 9781416986898)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

review 1: I was super excited when I saw this book at the library. The title and cover are completely eye catching. The storyline....errrgh. I am not really sure if my kids understood what was going on half the time. The basic premise is that monsters like to eat whiny children. The monsters in this book spend most the time arguing over how they are going to eat the whiny kids (in a salad, in a cake, etc). At one point they are discussing if the whiny kids would taste good with curry and made into an Indian dish. I'm not sure my kids even know what curry or Indian food is. The illustrations are sparse and without much color. When I finished reading this book tonight you could hear a pin drop. Not sure if they were paralyzed with fear over being baked into a cake or if the... morey were still trying to understand the book.
review 2: I recently read Reading Magic by Mem Fox. In it, she explains that children (and adults) should be able to have some sort of emotional reaction--even if it's generally considered a negative emotion--to a book. I think this book might make kids a little scared because some monsters steal some whiny children and try to prepare them in different ways. Think salad, burgers, cakes, sandwiches. Of course, the ending of the book will make the child feel safe and happy again. And, perhaps, it could decrease some whining with the threat of monsters lurking. The illustrations are ink and watercolor, and I think they give a nice monstery tone but they stay safe enough that you're not going to get nightmares. The watercolors are used thoughtfully, and they help enhance the story. None of the characters' eyes have pupils, which I also find a little scary. I don't think this would work for storytime at my library because it's aimed at kids that are a little older than preschool. It is a good read-aloud book, though, because the words are big and easy to see, and the book tells you how to read it: "nasal voice" "she whispered" and so on. Overall, I'd give this one four out of five stars, and I can think of a few children I'd like to read it to right now. less

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