FICTION

Go to School, Little Monster

by Helen KETTEMAN
illus. by Bonnie Leick. 32p. Amazon/Two Lions. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781477826362. 2014915912.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2—Mr. Drool welcomes an apprehensive, freckle-faced, pointy-eared monster to his class at the Horace Arachnid Academy and serenely narrates this witty romp through the first day of school. In gentle, rhyming verse, the reticent Little Monster is introduced to his fellow creepy classmates ("Yes, his teeth are quite big,/ but I don't think he'll bite") and is encouraged to join in at recess ("Go play outside./The playground has ogres/ and dragons to ride"). After participating in a rousing Stomp Song storytime, mastering a "count out loud/the number of demons" math lesson, and making a new friend, Little Monster feels right at home. Leick's ink and watercolor illustrations are full of laugh-out-loud details, such as lunch tables laden with bat chips, centipede sandwiches, and eyeball gelatin.
VERDICT A frightfully fun book to calm first day jitters.
Reviewed by Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada
On his first day of school, Little Monster is guided through his day by kind teacher Mr. Drool and new friend Fang. Eventually, the worried-looking little creature becomes eager for another day. Leick's watercolors--with gobs of not-too-gruesome monster-ish details (rats, cobwebs, creepy-crawlies, drool, etc.)--add originality to the oft-told first-day-of-school drama recounted in the singsongy rhymes.
 , Aug 01, 2015

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