Publishers Weekly
05/01/2023
In the setup to this jokey picture book, two monsters sit on a tree branch overhanging water. The smaller monster, Hunny, a fluffy horned creature with a red handbag, is feeling “sad and grumpy.” So the bigger monster, Funny, who sports gator-like eyes and an orange vest, launches into a barrage of jokes, each one enacted in a vignette (“Why did the monster take out one hundred books from the library? Because he wanted to eat them at home!”). It isn’t until the self-appointed comedian accidentally falls off the branch and into the drink—a scene rendered in splattery, bubbly blues—that Hunny’s gloom disappears. “NOW, THAT’S FUNNY!” the little monster declares, and Funny good-heartedly agrees: mission accomplished. The jokes, as channeled through Stine (the Goosebumps series), are more chestnuts than rib-ticklers, but they’re almost beside the point. Brown (the Arthur series) turns the story into a visual feast of dimensional, collage-like shapes and textures (plaids, striations, mottling, streaks), and there’s something deeply relatable about Funny’s relentless snaggletooth delivery and insistence that the best is yet to come (“Hold on to your belly. You’ll be laughing so hard”). After all, who hasn’t thought at one time or another that they’re a monster comic talent? Ages 4–8. (July)
From the Publisher
Praise for Mary McScary:
A Barnes and Noble Halloween National Storytime Pick!
"[A] trove of ideas for mischief-making young readers." — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Little Shop of Monsters:
2016 Children's Choice Book Award Winner
"Frightfully funny. Children will scream for repeated visits to The Little Shop of Monsters." — School Library Journal
"Readers are sure to visit this shop again and again for its fantastical creatures and its slightly sinister tone." — Kirkus Reviews
"Readers looking for friendly, cuddly monsters should shop elsewhere — as Stine ominously reminds readers, 'When you come to the Little Shop of Monsters, you don't choose a monster... a monster chooses YOU!'" — Publishers Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
2023-04-12
The creators of Goosebumps and Arthur team up for a monster of a joke book.
Two monster friends, one big, one little, perch on a tree branch. Funny decides to improve glum Hunny’s mood with some irresistible jokes. Hunny remains unimpressed and resolutely grumpy, but Funny increasingly ups the ante, assuring Hunny more and more firmly that the best gags are yet to come. Funny tells a dozen jokes in total. Some are incoherent, while others are mildly amusing; all but one feature monsters, many involving monstrous appetites: “What’s the monster’s favorite school lunch?” “The teacher!” Funny believes that each one is hilarious and cracks themself up, but Hunny is unmoved. The impasse is resolved with one moment of slapstick: Funny jumps up and down on the branch in frustration, then becomes unbalanced, falls off the limb, and lands in the water below with a huge splash. Hunny thinks that the pratfall is hilarious and finally guffaws, good humor restored. Many readers will find the so-bad-they’re-good jokes and the ending satisfyingly absurd. Blocky collage illustrations of varied textures and cheerful colors, set against a flat background, carry readers through the text; the monsters are toothy, but most are reasonably friendly looking. Touches of red provide accents. Large text and mostly simple words will appeal to beginning readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Comic fun for those who appreciate farce—or monsters. (Picture book. 5-9)
