The Creature of Habit

by Jennifer E. Smith, Leo Espinosa (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

In this amazingly adorable picture book by Jennifer Smith, a certain creature creates a rigid routine for himself. When a tiny traveler shows up unexpectedly, the creature must come to terms that sometimes it’s ok to not have a plan. Not only will children love the fun style of drawings in The Creature Habit, but they’ll also learn to embrace change.

On the island of Habit lives a very big creature who does the exact same things in the exact same order every day, but when a small creature comes along who wants to do something different every day, the creature of habit must learn to adapt.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593173053
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	11/09/2021
Series:	A Creature of Habit Story
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	76,086
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 11.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jennifer E. Smith is the author of eight novels for young adults, including The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, Windfall, and Field Notes on Love. She earned a master's degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

Leo Espinosa is a New York Times bestselling illustrator and designer from Bogotá, Colombia. His picture books includes No More Naps by Chris Grabenstein, Islandborn by Junot Diaz, for which he was awarded a Pura Belpre illustrator award, and Goldfish on Vacation by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Leo's award-winning illustrations have been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, Pictoplasma, 3x3, and the Society of Illustrators. In addition, he has given multiple lectures and workshops at schools and institutions such as Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute as well as serving on the faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Editorial Reviews

08/09/2021

A creature from the island of Habit learns to break out of routine in this encouraging play-on-words story from YA author Smith (Field Notes on Love). As Habit’s sole resident, a large round white creature “with very big teeth. And very big eyes. And very, very big feet” is accustomed to a consistent daily schedule: a meal of three pineapples and two bananas; a friendly tour of the island to hunt seashells and greet the fish, trees, rocks, and a crab; another meal; and a cozy bedtime involving a toothbrush custom-made for his two buck teeth. When a blue “very small creature” unexpectedly arrives, the “very big creature” is initially shocked that the traveler doesn’t want to stick to the program—evidently preferring to eat coconuts and oranges, build sandcastles, and vary his sleep schedule. Before long, though, the free-spirited visitor’s unusual activities and unpredictable schedule tempt the change-averse creature, opening his eyes to pleasures he’d overlooked and inviting him to occasionally do things differently—a final moment under the stars suggests that different can even be wondrous. Employing tropical hues, digital illustrations by Espinosa (No More Naps!) have a hip screen-printed quality that playfully freshens up Smith’s familiar message about staying open to change. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

2021-07-14
Can a creature of habit change his ways?

The eponymous creature, who lives a solitary life on the island of Habit, is a big, unspecified, anthropomorphic being. With his pink nose, buck teeth, and two feathery ears, he looks more like a white rabbit than an old dog, but he is decidedly averse to learning new tricks. Opening pages establish how he happily sticks to a very strict daily regimen of foods (three pineapples and two bananas, twice a day) and activities (greeting fish, trees, rocks, and a crab, and collecting shells). Then a new, small creature arrives by boat and shakes things up a bit. At first, the small creature, who looks like a blue fuzzball with pipestem limbs and green spectacles, tries out the creature of Habit’s routine, but by the second day, he is eating new foods, exploring new places, and spontaneously pursuing his heart’s content. The big creature is overwhelmed by the small one’s antics, and a climactic spread shows him in a close-up, waving his short arms in the air with text that exclaims, “IT WAS ABSOLUTE MADNESS!” After this comical outburst, the big creature starts to follow the small one around and is both charmed and persuaded to try a few new things himself. The rewards for this flexibility are manifold, with companionship being the most important. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Sure to support little ones’ reading habits. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews

A creature from the island of Habit learns to break out of routine in this encouraging play-on-words story.” –Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher