Monster in the City

November 15, 2014
Grades 4-7 Portia, Jason, and Jellaby are working together to try to find a way to return the quiet purple monster to its own home. As they make their way back to Toronto, they battle crowds, weather, and growing tension that tests the bonds of Jason and Portia's friendship. Things get easier once they make it to the Canadian National Exhibition, but while Portia is focused on missing her dad, a creepy magician leads Jason and Jellaby into an underground cavern, and they meet a lonely and angry monster, Xolotl, who tries to trap them in her lair forever. This concluding volume of Soo's award-winning children's comic is just as heartening as the first, with whip-smart kids and a cute creature whose giant eyes and sleeve-tugging innocence make him instantly lovable. The uncluttered panels in a limited palette clearly tell the story at hand, and Soo's expert use of facial expressions adds a meaningful emotional component. This newly available library edition, a reprint of the 2009 original, would be a great addition to any kids comics collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)