The Monster Next Door

July 4, 2016
Ladybug Girl co-creator Soman charts the highs and lows of a nascent friendship in this quirky, sensitive story. His hero, Boy, has a fine-looking tree house, and he soon gets a neighbor, Monster—a purple, gumdrop-shaped creature with a tree house of his own. After the two bond over bad jokes, silly dances, and muscle poses, an improbable friendship forms. But a musical celebration turns sour when Monster’s sousaphone drowns out Boy’s kazoo, leading to name-calling and a gigantic water balloon fight: “The Boy saw it clearly—the Monster was mean.” Soman makes good use of full-page images and panel sequences to show the gulf between the two characters, one that is addressed by a change in perspective. After traveling to Monster’s tree house to deliver a “not friends” note, Boy realizes how much fun they had together (“Things looked different over here”). The soft swishes of color and bursts of onomatopoeia (like the “splort” of a bursting water balloon) add lightness to a story that highlights the value of embracing difference and keeping an open mind. Ages 3–5. Agent: Douglas Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic.

June 1, 2016
An attack of peevishness is defused with a change in perspective.A Boy, dark-haired, golden-skinned, and almond-eyed, has built a treehouse in a field. It is stocked with the usual: a kazoo, a spyglass, a potted sunflower, a galvanized tub full of festive water balloons. Then a Monster--a purple one with a wide grin and narwhal tusks sticking out of its head--builds a treehouse next door. They become friends even if they can't communicate all that well at first. "Why did the chicken cross the road?" asks the Boy. "BURLAP!" replies the Monster. The Boy plays a few notes on his kazoo. The Monster responds with a great, rolling blat from a sousaphone, which annoys the Boy. They hurl insults--"Slithey tove!" "Turtle neck!"--engage in a furious water-balloon fight ("And so it went"; from Lewis Carroll to Kurt Vonnegut), then beat retreats. Only when the Boy goes to deliver a friendship-ending note to the Monster's treehouse (which is empty of Monster, who is guess where?) does he begin to consider that the Monster likes loud music but is a fun neighbor otherwise. The notes hit are those in the keys of empathy and diplomacy, ably supported by gentle, mixed-media illustrations that vary sequential panels, vignettes, and expansive, double-page spreads. Give a little, take a sousaphone. Listeners should absorb the book's elegantly executed common sense like a sponge. (Picture book. 3-7)

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September 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-The cocreator of the "Ladybug Girl" series is back with his second solo effort-a tale of an unusual friendship. The story starts with a boy standing on the deck of the tree house, a spyglass in hand and a bucket full of water balloons at the ready. One day, he spies a new tree house being built nearby. His new neighbor is a rotund purple monster sporting a vest and two horns on the top of his head. At first the two don't appear to have much in common. But before long, they are setting up a pulley system to pass notes back and forth between the two abodes. They decide to celebrate the newfound friendship with a shared interest-playing music! Unfortunately, the sound of the tuba that the monster plays drowns out the music from the boy's small kazoo. The illustrations visually represent the music excellently, with swirling watercolors that extend out from the instruments. The boy can be seen recoiling from the monster's music, which presses down on him and envelops his sound. The monster doesn't respond to the child's complaint that he is playing too loudly, and soon they are hurling insults and water balloons at each other. Furious, the boy cuts the rope on the pulley and stomps over to hand deliver a friendship-ending note. The resolution that follows is realistic and right on target for the audience. VERDICT Kids will relate to the intense emotions of disagreeing with a friend and the simple act of making up once the anger has passed. Great for read-alouds and small group sharing.-Kimberly Tolson, Medfield Public Library, MA

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