Creepy Pair of Underwear!

Starred review from July 17, 2017
Five years after the Caldecott Honor–winning Creepy Carrots!, Jasper Rabbit returns, and he’s being frightened by something equally improbable: the green undies he insisted his mother buy for him. With their “ghoulish, greenish glow” and a stitched and bolted face à la Frankenstein’s monster, these tighty not-so-whities start keeping Jasper up at night, and nothing—not even throwing them away or mailing them to China—can prevent them from returning to his bedroom. Once again, Reynolds and Brown are in perfect comedic synch as they channel the surprises and creeping dread of a thriller. Brown’s noir-style b&w illustrations make the most of the premise, and the innate absurdity of being afraid of one’s undergarments will be a surefire winner with many kids. Ages 4–8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management.

August 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-Jasper Rabbit and his mother go shopping one Thursday for much-needed new underwear. Bypassing the boring white pairs, Jasper begs his mom to get the peculiar looking but comfy neon green underwear-even if it resembles Frankenstein's monster. Reluctantly, Jasper's mother agrees, and so one pair of the psychedelic undies goes home with them. That night, however, Jasper tries to get rid of the underwear but it returns, "staring at him with that ghoulish, greenish glow." The garment's bright color and changing expressions are highlighted by their placement on dark backgrounds. Finally, Jasper successfully buries the underwear in a deep, deep hole. A totally black spread is followed by one with Jasper's huge round eyes, fearful of the dark, now dull without the green glow. After he digs up his original pair, Jasper spends his whole allowance and festoons his room with an entire collection of creepy green underwear. First introduced in Creepy Carrots, Jasper's antics are equally humorous and appropriately but safely spooky. VERDICT An enjoyable and comfortably spine-tingling picture book for a Halloween or any day storytime.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2017
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear. Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: "Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious." The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown's choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear's glowing green...and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his "I'm a big rabbit" assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he's wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don't stay gone. It's only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he's not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown's illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper's every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear's expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale. Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won't leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss' tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)

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Starred review from May 15, 2017
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Returning to their Caldecott Honor Book world of Creepy Carrots! (2012), Reynolds and Brown put young Jasper Rabbit through even creepier, more scream-inducing horror, now with a pair of glow-in-the-dark underpants that, like the cat in the famous song (or a number of horror staples), keep . . . coming . . . back. Jasper doesn't realize that his prized new undies glow, until the bedroom lights go out. His dismay quickly changes to terror after he stuffs them in the laundry hamperand wakes up wearing them. The underwear refuses to stay in the garbage can or a box mailed to China, and they even come back after being cut up into snippets. Featuring a grimacing monster face in the illustrations and a green glow made even more lurid by the solid black backgrounds, the scary skivvies seem to leap out at viewers with each page turn. But then, when Jasper finally does at last find a way to dispose of them, the utter darkness in his room sparks a change of heart and a trip back to the local undie emporium. This strikes the ideal balance between frightening and hilarious, and like the underwear itself, readers are guaranteed to keep coming back for this storytime platinum!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)