From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–In Sage's contemporary tale, a nurturing mother makes doughnuts while the father pretends to be a disgruntled beast. Readers first meet Charlie, a child with a passion for monsters, his Mom, and his Dad in the kitchen. As his mother mentions making doughnuts, his father, wearing a wide smile, exits the door with a coffee and newspaper in hand. Charlie finds Mr. Beast in the shed outdoors where he keeps a large, oversize frying pan. He is more than happy to loan the pan, as long as Charlie returns it filled to the brim with her delectable doughnuts! The plot turns when the boy, having succumbed to temptation, returns the pan empty and is met by Mr. Beast's threat: ‘You've eaten all my doughnuts, bozo, so tonight I'll eat you! Depend upon it!' Page after page, the suspense mounts as Mr. Beast slowly makes his way to Charlie's room at night. He hears Mr. Beast say, ‘Now I'm in the house, and I'm really going to eat you up!' Ayto's dark purple and green drawings have angular, elongated forms, with menacing shadows that add drama and suspense to the text. Instead of being frightening, however, they are whimsical and funny, keeping the tone firmly tongue-in-cheek. In the end, the mother reasserts civility within the household as the two males promise to be good. An interesting addition for monster lovers.
–Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
James Sage is an American children’s author now living in Lincolnshire, England. His first children’s book won the Prix d’Arles.
Russell Ayto is the illustrator of many books for children, including The Witch’s Children. Russell currently lives with his family in Cornwall, England.
