Are You a Hungry Monster?

December 15, 2024
Snack, anyone? "Hi, monster friend!" says a scaly green creature. "I'm going to make a special snack for both of us." Opening theMonster Cookbook, our protagonist displays the ingredients required for a "monster sandwich." The recipe calls for two slices of bread buried in mud for five days, two tablespoons of earwax, an old shoe sole, two raggedy socks, and--the pi�ce de r�sistance--dry snot. (At this point, kids will be giggling or gagging very loudly.) Showing off the finished creation, the proud chef is shocked no one's anxious to try it. Does it need more earwax? Readers will likely still be groaning. The befuddled monster doesn't understand why anyone would pass up this delicacy. Adding onion juice doesn't work. Wait a minute, the monster says. You don't like cookies, fruit, chocolate, or pasta, do you? Naturally, children will be shrieking their assent. "So disgusting!" proclaims the monster. "If you eat those things, you'll never be as healthy as me." Still, our hero is a good friend and tops the sandwich with a strawberry before gulping it down. Kids will laugh themselves silly over this offering, mined for obvious satirical hilarity, and will savor repeat helpings. The riotous illustrations, incorporating lots of creative typesetting and starring an adorable bespectacled green monster, match the comical proceedings. Just the thing to engage children hungry for tasty, enjoyable picture-book fare.(Picture book. 3-5)

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