From School Library Journal
Grade 2–4—Eighteen classic songs have been transformed here into versions that range from the silly to the slightly disgusting to the extremely gross. Such titles as "Take Me Out to the Graveyard," "Creepy, Creepy Little Jar," and "If You're Scary and You Know It, Clap Your Paws" are accompanied by watercolor and mixed-media illustrations, mainly in earth tones, that make the words seem even more revolting. Sung to the tune of "Oh My Darling, Clementine," "My Delicious Frankenstein" has lyrics like, "Oh, my crispy. Oh, my crunchy./Oh, my frosted Frankenstein./You're so yummy…in my tummy…/My delicious Frankenstein." The song is illustrated with a downtrodden-looking monster, complete with whipped cream and a cherry atop his head. He's portrayed against a red-and-white-check tablecloth and opposite a woman licking her lips and brandishing a carving knife and fork. Children will recognize all the songs parodied here, making them easy to sing. These selections may not have quite the inventiveness or creativity of some of Alan Katz and David Catrow's collections, notably Where Did They Hide My Presents? (S & S, 2005), but they certainly have appeal.—Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY
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DiPucchio goes for the big gross-out with nauseating success in this collection of familiar, reworded campfire songs. Using the same irreverent humor she did in Dinosnores (2005), she turns out gut-churning lyrics for 18 selections, giving them such insidiously altered titles as “Take Me Out to the Graveyard.” If there was ever a perfect accomplice to illustrate a lyric like “Do your guts hang low? Do they wobble to and fro?” it’s Grimly, who conjures an array of affable nightmares through the same twisted looking glass employed by Tim Burton, producing work that is by turns ghoulishly funny and downright disgusting—but always right on target. As in Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Madness (2004), which was for an older audience, Grimly balances a sense of the grotesque and disturbing with a playfulness that disarms morbidity. This grand showcase of gross-out humor is sure to have kids using the lyrics to torment friends and teachers. Grades 3-5. --Jesse Karp
About the Author
KELLY DIPUCCHIO's fans and critics agree: She has a singing voice that can wake the dead. Ms. DiPucchio is the author of several picture books, which reviewers have praised as "hilarious," admiring her writing's "rollicking rhythm." She resides with her husband, three monsters, and a few spiders in a suburb outside of Detroit, Michigan.
