Seven Scary Monsters
Kindergarten-Grade 2-The illustrator of Margie Palatini's Piggie Pie! (Clarion, 1995) again struts his imaginative stuff with a mishmash of fiends ranging from a blue-jeaned cyclops with lobster claws to an alligator in a green fright wig. The narrator relays in rhyme the reasons and methods for dispensing with these pests, in descending order from seven to one. When number six rips a book, the boy sucks him up in a vacuum. Another tool is a "monster shooter" made of a flashlight taped to a baseball bat. As each creature disappears, the boy shouts "Rick! Rack! Wrinkleshack! Don't you dare come back!" a fine refrain for storyhour participation. However, Lundgren's rhythms often falter, and she uses sound effects to fill in when a rhyme scheme gets tough. Since youngsters are mad for monsters, this mischievous romp may find an audience for the illustrations alone.Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.