Synopsis
You knew monsters were scary, right? But did you know that monsters feel pretty silly wearing just their underpants? Or that a car full of peanuts wouldn’t come close to satisfying a monster’s appetite? Did you know that if a monster had his way, he’d have something much more slimy than candles on his birthday cake? You didn’t know?
Well, luckily for you, The Monster Show will answer all your questions about monsters. Grab a seat! The monsters behind the curtain will be happy to show you all that you didn’t know, and more.
Publishers Weekly
Standing at the edge of a proscenium stage, a top-hatted MC addresses a theatre full of kids and parents. "Everyone knows monsters are scary!" he declaims. His purpose, however, is not to frighten the audience but rather to educate them in a "monster tell-all." With pi ata-bright illustrations that bring to mind outsider art crossed with the visual traditions of Latin America, Harper (The Trouble with Normal) reveals a series of goofy tableaux devoted to "not so scary" monstrosities. "Even monsters look silly when they are just wearing underpants," the MC points out, as a quartet of creatures models tidy whiteys and boxer shorts. Unfortunately, the text falls short of the pictures' sparkle; the artwork may borrow from the conventions of the theatre, but there's a curious lack of theatricality to the narration. Still the totem-like monsters are so wonderfully imagined and endearingly silly that they may well defuse youngsters' fears about what's lurking under the bed or in the closet. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.