July 15, 2017
An exasperated big sister learns to love her little monster of a sibling by finding her own inner monster.Lucy has had it with her little sister's behavior. Mia, who like Lucy is white, always seems underfoot and over-the-top. When Lucy finally loses her temper and calls Mia a "little monster," Mia disappears. Mia's reaction to her sister's rejection isn't depicted, but at first, Lucy is clearly delighted and revels in time to herself. But a shift in palette from bright to dull, as well as in the tone of the text, signals Lucy's quick change of heart: "after a while, it felt quiet. Very quiet. TOO QUIET. No one followed Lucy's lead." So Lucy sets out to find Mia and discovers a secret doorway in her little sister's room that leads to a land of monsters. Fotheringham's style shifts from something akin to Jules Feiffer's to something more like Ed Emberley's here, with brightly colored, cartoonish, goggly-eyed monsters cavorting with Mia against a black background. Mia seems perfectly content, and not only do the monsters reject Lucy's attempts to wrest Mia away, they reject her, too: " 'YOU'RE NOT A LITTLE MONSTER, ' they howled. 'GO AWAY!' " But Lucy stands firm and liberates her inner monster with a fit of rage that sends the monsters scurrying away. Mia happily rejoins her in the real world, where their rivalry gives way to sisterly revelry. Monstrous sisterly fun. (Picture book. 4-7)
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October 1, 2017
K-Gr 2- Like many older siblings, Lucy finds her little sister, Mia, annoying. Mia always wants to do what Lucy does, but a lot messier, and often takes center stage. One day Lucy's patience runs out; she calls her sister a monster and tells her to go away. At first, Lucy enjoys being alone to read her books, bike, and clean her room. But she eventually starts to miss her sister and wonders where she went. Lucy goes looking for Mia, but can't find her anywhere. Finally, she notices a small, colorful door drawn on Mia's wall and touches it. To her shock, the door opens, revealing Mia along with a group of monsters. The monsters proudly tell Lucy that Mia is everything they want in a queen and they are going to keep her forever. Lucy tries to talk the monsters out of keeping her little sister, but when that doesn't work she becomes angry and a bit monsterlike herself. This fun book humorously illustrates the ups and downs of sibling relationships. Sometimes Lucy finds Mia bothersome, but ultimately she is her sister and worth defending. VERDICT A great book where stories about sibling relationships are needed. The monster aspects also make it an enjoyable choice for storytime.- Heidi Grange, Summit Elementary School, Smithfield, UT
Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2018
Lucy wishes her sister, Mia, would leave her alone. After Lucy calls Mia a monster, actual monsters say they'll keep Mia. Lucy channels her own inner monster to rescue Mia, and they figure out how to get along. This fantastical approach to sibling rivalry takes children's feelings seriously. The digital illustrations show the girls' personalities and use color to reflect mood.
(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)