Do Not Eat the Game!

March 15, 2020
Board games, much like playtimes, take two or more players to make everything go right. Schoolkids need a helping hand as they move from solo to social play--especially in a screen-oriented world--and McElligott here guides them along. Illustrated in a game board-style layout and written in the imperative style of game instructions, this clever book externalizes kids' worst playtime impulses in the form of literal monsters. Readers first encounter a small child laden with a big, multicolored game box. When the family's gray terrier wanders out of the room, the kid lets a pink, furred monster in through the window to serve as a substitute playmate. Things begin well enough, but, as a crowd of monsters accumulates and overwhelms the protagonist, the loyal pup returns to scare them off. Unfortunately, the furry fiends abscond with the game board, then refuse to give it back. Undaunted, the enterprising kid handcrafts a decoy game that distracts the thieving horde with explicitly naughty directives--throwing pieces, munching the board, and so on--enabling the retrieval of the board. Once the monsters realize good fun is contingent on good sportsmanship, they apologize and rejoin the game. By the amicable ending, readers have discovered the basics of fair play: abiding by the rules, waiting your turn, respecting your competitors, winning (and losing!) gracefully, and, per the titular mandate, abstaining from conspicuous consumption. This book requires two or more readers--the more participants, the merrier. (Picture book. 5-8)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2020
Grades K-2 Any child who has broken the rules of a board game, thrown the pieces, or suddenly quit the game can identify with and delight in this Jumanji-lite story of a game that turns chaotic. As a little girl and her dog open a board game and start reading the rules?which make up the entirety of the book's text?a fuzzy, pink-polka-dotted monster peers through the window. Soon, it joins the game and begins tossing pieces and eating the game board itself, and more of its monster friends join, merrily creating chaos. There are four games here: the original; the second, where the cute monsters carry off the game pieces; the third, where the girl makes up her own game with insane rules for the monsters; and the fourth, in which she and the monsters play the original game properly. The book itself is designed like a board game, with brightly colored panels mimicking game spaces. Ultimately, this is a cleverly zany take on how difficult forming friendships can be.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)