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The Ravenous Beast

Name: The Ravenous Beast
Author: Niamh Sharkey
ISBN: 9780763621827

by Niamh Sharkey, Sharkey

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Overview

Ravenous little readers will eat up this deliciously illustrated read-aloud and be hungry, hungry, hungry for more!

The Ravenous Beast is hungry, hungry, hungry! He’s so hungry he could eat a whole house. Gobble it up! Swallow it down! But all the other animals are claiming that they’re the hungriest of all. What can the Ravenous Beast do to prove them wrong? Niamh Sharkey’s droll, strikingly stylized illustrations lend a fanciful flair to this comical tale of beastly competition - and insatiable appetite.

Various creatures from a mouse to a whale describe all the things they can eat, but the Ravenous Beast proves to be the hungriest of all.

Synopsis

Ravenous little readers will eat up this deliciously illustrated read-aloud and be hungry, hungry, hungry for more!

Publishers Weekly

Fans of silly wordplay will gobble up this tale of a Ravenous Beast who announces he's the "hungriest animal of all." To prove it, he takes a chomp out of a house. "Nonsense! Smonsense!" cries a "little white mouse," one of a merry menagerie that try to out-eat the Beast and each other by nibbling everything in sight (" `Hokum! Pokum!' said the marmalade cat. `I'm as hungry as can be. I'm so hungry I could eat a bucket, a spade, and some pink lemonade' "). The animals' goofy retorts ("Moo! Moo! Malarkey!"; "Flip! Flap-doodle!") add a fun touch, plus kids will giggle over the ever-more-random, bite mark-bedecked objects that the animals "woof down" (a polka-dot sock, a trombone with a dent, a treasure map). Sharkey (The Gigantic Turnip) floods the story with whimsical compositions that echo the work of Joan Mir in their delicate detailing. The color-saturated pictures in swirling brushstrokes play off simple shapes, complemented by well-designed typography. Sharkey builds adroitly to the subversive climax, when the Ravenous Beast decides to eat his rivals for supper, growling, "Gobble you up! Swallow you down!" From start to finish, a feast for young readers. Ages 3-6. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Niamh Sharkey

Niamh Sharkey is the illustrator of many award-winning children’s books. When looking for inspiration for a new picture book, she turned to her old notebooks and sketches. "I came across a 1994 painting, RAVENOUS MONSTERS, featuring hungry, hungry animals. After much playing around with the idea, THE RAVENOUS BEAST was born." Niamh Sharkey lives in Dublin, Ireland.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Children's Literature

"I am the hungriest animal of all," boasts the Ravenous Beast. But this is challenged by a series of other creatures, each saying that no one is hungrier. "Nonsense! Smonense!" says the little white mouse. "Hokum Pokum!" says the marmalade cat. They are followed by a dog, cow, crocodile, lion, elephant, and a gigantic whale, all of whom brag in turn about how hungry they are in ever more elaborate words, ending with the refrain "Now THAT'S what I call hungry!" But the Ravenous Beast tops them all, by eating them all, for THAT'S what he calls hungry! The comic stylization of the oil-painted illustrations shows each animal and its weird diet in a full-page scene. The text page shows them gradually accumulating below the words, sharing the increasingly crowded space with the Ravenous Beast. It takes a double page to hold him once the deed is done. The end is hinted on the end papers, where the front shows all the creatures while at the back, only the Beast is in sight. 2003, Candlewick Press, Ages 3 to 6.
— Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-The Ravenous Beast, an orange-and-blue creature resembling a dinosaur, claims to be "the hungriest animal of all." Seven others, ranging in size from a tiny white mouse to a huge whale, challenge the statement by demonstrating their eating prowess. They consume many items, including a boat, a trampoline, and a bus. As each animal finishes its unlikely meal, the Beast eyes the competitors, then settles the question by eating them all. Versions of "The Fat Cat" by Jack Kent (Parent's Magazine, 1971; o.p.) and Margaret Read MacDonald (August House, 2001), and Lensey Namioka's The Hungriest Boy in the World (Holiday, 2001) also feature inveterate eaters but end with the thwarting of the hungry protagonist. The last spread of Sharkey's book shows that the hillside has been cleared of everything but the Beast. However, the cartoon style of the illustrations and the absurdity of the animals' claims plant the narrative firmly in fantasy and help alleviate potential fears. The oversized pages and hand lettering add to the effectiveness of the design and will facilitate group sharing. Repetitive aspects of the tale, such as the boast "Now THAT's what I call hungry," add to the read-aloud potential. Children will eat this up.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The teal-and-orange "Beast" is reassuringly comic rather than scary in this brightly illustrated tale of one-upmanship. When the Beast announces he's so hungry he could eat a house, he sets off a whole claque of other animals who vie to be the hungriest. Large, informal black type and spot illustrations of the animals alternate with full-bleed oil paintings featuring the aforementioned munching; the pictures are vivid and sharp as well as funny-normally inedible items like boats, pails, and roller skates are munched into. The riotous spread following the toothily grinning Beast's assertion that he's still the most ravenous shows mouse, cat, cow, whale, dog, elephant, lion, and alligator flying in all directions. The first-person boasting, large trim size, energy of the illustrations, and imaginative premise make this a terrific read-aloud. Be sure to have plenty of snacks on hand for afterward. (Picture book. 3-6)