Boris and Bella

by Carolyn Crimi, Gris Grimly (Illustrator)

Overview

Bella Legrossi is the messiest monster in all of Booville. Her slime is the slimiest and her grime is the grimiest. Alas, she is neighbors with Boris Kleanitoff, a persnickety ghoul so tidy he vacuums his vampire bats. What could ever bring these two together? Why, a hoppin' Halloween party, of course!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152059002
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/01/2006
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,127,608
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.14(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

CAROLYN CRIMI is the author of four other picture books, including Tessa's Tip-Tapping Toes, illustrated by Marsha Gray Carrington, and Don't Need Friends, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.  

Editorial Reviews

"Young readers will delight in the ghoulish details . . . A bewitching choice."
—School Library Journal
"Devilishly clever."—FamilyFun Magazine

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From the Publisher

The diametrically different Bella Legrossi and Boris Kleanitoff find love on the dance floor of Harry Beastie's ultimate Halloween bash. PW wrote, "Crimi's corpse-fresh text and Grimly's fiendish visual details make an equally pleasing pair." Ages 4-7. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1-4-Boris Kleanitoff is terrifyingly tidy while Bella Lagrossi is monstrously messy. These neighbors don't get along until a Halloween dance brings them together. The story of this monster romance is predictable, but told with tongue-tickling prose. The description of the party is characteristically spunky, as "Cy Clops bebopped and the Fang flip-flopped. The Boogeyman boogied while the trolls twirled round." Grimly's illustrations, which are similar to those in Marilyn Singer's Monster Museum (Hyperion, 2001), perfectly complement the text. The characters are creatively drawn with ink and watercolor in subdued hues. Young readers will delight in the ghoulish details like the "Pizza Glut" box in Bella's house and the shrunken heads by the punch bowl at the shindig. This is a bewitching choice for libraries looking to boost their Halloween offerings.-Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Two monsters with very different habits find common ground in this boo-tiful friendship tale. So obsessively neat is Boris Kleanitoff, and such a world class slob is his neighbor Bella Legrossi, that all the other creatures in town decline invitations to their rival Halloween parties in favor of a looser but not so disgusting shindig at Hairy Beastie's. Furiously stomping off to give Hairy what-for, the two reluctantly join the wild dance instead-and discover that together, they can really cut the rug. Readers who find the ghouls and behavior in Adam Stower's similarly themed Two Left Feet (p. 638) a bit too sweet may go for this edgier rendition, with its cuisine that includes maggot muffins and chocolate-covered gargoyle boils, and its spiky Addams Family-style illustrations. (Picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews