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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli





Random House

Barbara Jean Hicks; Illustrations by Sue Hendra

The book jacket truly sets the tone for this book - funky monsters in vivid colors cavort wildly across the pages. Add to that a fun rhyming text, and you have yourself a royally great selection! Not to mention the little lesson on nutrition that is slyly tucked in around the fun. Really, you don't need to mention that part to your kids.

These monsters enjoy all sorts of snacks, from tractors to rocket ships. They gobble up cars by the dozen and have trailers for dessert. Alfalfa spouts, lima beans and broccoli, you say? No way! They cringe and cower when they see a plate piled up with green vegetables. Fum, foe, fie, fee ... monsters don't eat broccoli!


They are crazy for construction, chomping on rock boulders and licking stop signs like they were lollipops. They munch on cars, boats, ships and sharks. But the closest they come to eating anything from the backyard is the garden gate. These monsters do, however, eat giant redwoods and maple trees, which look suspiciously like ... the dreaded broccoli. Could there be a bit of a tricky end to this monster tale?

The clever, rhyming text is the perfect match for these eye-popping illustrations. I love that the monsters come in such a pleasing rainbow of color and pattern. The book offers great humor - both in written word and illustrations. Monsters plucking down spaceships with forks, burping wildly in the trailer park after a big meal, and cavorting in the park fountain. A very funny, wonderful book that really hits the mark.
 

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