WILD THING! Wolfboy by Andy Harkness

THE MOON WAS FULL.

Of course it was.

WOLFBOY WAS HUNGRY.

And not a rabbit in sight. Where are they?

Wolfboy was ...

HUNGRY!

Wolfboy stomped through the dark woods and through the clouded creek, and slogged his way through the soggy bog, not noticing the snorkel-masked rabbit watching from underwater or the one hiding under a lily pad.

HE WAS HUNGRY AND HUFFY AND DROOLY.

"RABBITS! WHERE ARE YOU?"

He climbs an old oak tree, not spotting the rabbits running out of the forest. He marches across Moonberry Meadow getting even more cranky.

WOLFBOY WAS HUNGRY AND HUFFY AND DROOLY AND GRUMPY AND FUSSY!!

Where are those wascally wabbits?

But what's that he spies in the tall grass? Rabbit ears? He charges, his snout wide open as the rabbits keep coming. But what's that they are all carrying high over their heads?

"WE MADE YOU A MOONBERRY PIE!"

WOLFBOY CRUNCHED AND MUNCHED..

.

YUMMY! Wolfboy is...

... HAPPY!

All's well that ends with a well-fed Wolfboy in Andy Harkness' jolly story of besting the Hungries, Wolfboy (Bloomsbury, 2021), illustrated delightfully with author-illustrator Harkness' clay sculptures in strong color contrasts and with a wolfish hero-villain, both cute and cantankerous, and some crafty cooks among the coneys in his woods. This brand-new picture book is clever eye-candy and wonderful wordsmithery, with irresistible rhymes for read-aloud fun with all kinds of possibilities for interactive reading with preschool and primary children.

With the fanciful, psychological, and visual power of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, Harkness has created a new classic for children today, crafted beautifully in humorous clay sculptures that portray a hopeful theme that when creatures have all they need, the lion figuratively lies down with the lamb, and the wolf knoshes on pastries with the bunnies.

Says Booklist, "“The text is delightful and simple, using repetitive variations that naturally encourage participation in read-aloud settings, but it's the exceptional artwork that truly makes this a masterpiece. . . . An imaginative and completely immersive reading adventure.”

To Eat or Not To Eat! Eat Pete! by Michael Rex

PETE WAS PLAYING ON HIS BEDROOM FLOOR WHEN A MONSTER APPEARED AT THE WINDOW.

When he spots the monster, Pete is happy to see a potential playmate.

"HI!" SAID PETE. "DO YOU WANT TO PLAY?"

The monster clearly has another plan. He is very hungry and he only wants to do one thing!

EAT PETE!

Pete, however, is unperturbed, and even a young monster likes to play with cars, so the monster and Pete build roads and happily crash their cars. Then Pete suggests that they play pirates! Monster stifles his appetite and walks the plank like a good scalawag. Then Pete pulls out his blocks, and the monster forgets his hunger for the moment and builds a mighty castle.

Then Pete invites him to play super heroes. Suddenly the Monster is not in the mood for caped crusading. What he really, really, really wants to do is...

EAT PETE!

SO HE DID!

But now there's no one to play with. What's a lonely monster to do about this situation?

In Michael Rex's suspenseful conclusion, there are only two possible, er, outcomes. One is super sad, and the other is a bit gross, but all comes out well in the hands of a master picture book artist, in Michael Rex's Eat Pete! (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018), a monster story with a surprise ending that will have preschoolers giggling and gasping "EEEUUUWWW!" at the same time.

Michael Rex, the author of the inspired best-selling spoof, Goodnight Goon: a Petrifying Parody (read review here), conjures up a cute/scary critter reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's in the classic Where the Wild Things Are, along with a polite protagonist who's ready to forgive and forget to gain a fun playmate. Rex's latest has perfect pacing for the maximum read-aloud impact, and his illustrations are pure silly fun. This is a great book for the scary season or any time a funny monster story is on the menu. Share this one with Ryan T. Higgin's latest, We Don't Eat Our Classmates(see review here.)