Big Bad Bubble
K-Gr 2—Due to a long-ago mishap with gum, Mogo convinces his fellow wacky monsters living in the darkness of La La Land that bubbles that pop in from the human world are treacherous. According to Mogo, bubbles are sneaky and travel in packs and that in summer, they "go into a feeding frenzy." Luckily, the narrator convinces Yerburt, Froofle, Wumpus, and Mogo to use their fangs, claws, and horns to dispatch the threatening orbs. They celebrate by chewing bubble gum, popping bubble wrap, and taking a bubble bath. With one crisis averted, troublemaking Mogo debuts his book The Truth About Butterflies. Salmieri's cartoon figures in watercolor, pen, and ink burst across murky backgrounds that mix the fanciful and the bizarre. The fearful Wild Thing—like monsters are comically depicted, and their problems are resolved with perfect pacing. This pair also collaborated on three "Those Darn Squirrels" (Clarion) books and will gain even more fans with this book.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA