If Your Monster Won't Go to Bed

Vega's spoof of parenting manuals stars a girl in pink pajamas and her monster, a yeti-style hulk with sherbet-striped fur. When it comes to monster bedtimes, "Don't ask your parents to help you," the narrator cautions. "They know a lot about putting kids to bed, but nothing about putting monsters to bed." OHora's (The Not So Quiet Library) thick, haphazard black lines are almost intrinsically funny. The girl's father is so intimidated by the challenges of putting a monster to bed that he jumps right into his wife's arms. (They're a biracial couple, and the pajama-clad girl has brown skin.) The girl's successful formula follows: "Step 1: Pour your monster a nice big glass of calming, crunchy, oozy bug juice," followed by an ice-cold bath and a terrifying story. Vega (Grandmother, Have the Angels Come?) makes fine use of tried-and-true comic elements: the child who dominates an enormous beast, gross-out language (burps, smelly underwear), and the way her monster loves everything human children hate. Readers will be too busy giggling to go to sleep. Ages 3-7. Author's agent: Lara Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator's agent: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary. (Mar.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2--A brown-skinned girl in fuzzy bunny slippers faces the unenviable nightly task of putting her overtired monster to bed. An omnipresent narrator engages the unnamed main character and readers by discussing the importance of monsters getting their rest. Grumpy monsters are no fun, and with a series of "don'ts" that are reminiscent of what a chiding adult might say to a rambunctious child, the narrative proceeds to present what not to do, as readers follow the main character and her shaggy monster on their typical nighttime routine. Vega's incorporation of alliteration and wordplay, when woven with Ohora's bold acrylic art, creates a humorous discourse ideal for storytelling. Diversity abounds as the main character's parents, a white father quivering in the arms of her black mother, are shown to be incapable of putting monsters to bed. Vega reassures readers that "it's not their fault; they're just not good at it" and proceeds to list other concerns, such as sheep counting and avoiding the "Monster Stomp," which includes "waggle-wiggling, fur-flicking, [and] claw-clenching." The narrator provides six steps in the second half of the book, charmingly scrawled in a childlike print. Each step is fully illustrated on a spread. Strikingly bold artwork depicts a large, multicolored, bristly monster whose furry horns bear a passing resemblance to the young main character's hair puffs, slyly suggesting that bedtime routines are tough for monsters and children alike. VERDICT A superb example of picture book collaboration, this appealing title will be popular in most collections.--Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Praise for Zachariah OHora:

"The text is pitch-perfect, and the art is its match." —Chicago Tribune (Wolfie the Bunny)

"Picture books with hip, quirky illustrations that are not just funny but also have plenty of heart are hard to find. The stylish My Cousin Momo by Zachariah OHora has it all." —The Boston Globe (My Cousin Momo)

[set star] "OHora's acrylic paintings are the heart of this tale. They clearly show everyone's feelings . . . and there are brilliant bits of humor and whimsy." —School Library Journal, starred review (Wolfie the Bunny)

"OHora could paint stones in the street and make them funny." —Publishers Weekly (My Cousin Momo)