It's already October, and the clouds and cool mornings have rolled in along with the creepy creatures in two of our newest picture books for preschoolers and older.Bedtime At the Swamp by Kristyn Crow and Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen celebrate the creepy side of October and encourage a smooth bedtime in a lighthearted way.
Bedtime At the Swamp is set "neath the fat gold moon" in a slimy swamp where a boy hurries to escape a monster he can hear "splish splahing" behind him. The boy's family members (and soon the monster itself) follow him up a tree to get away until Mom signals bedtime and an end to the scary fun. The text has a wonderful steady rhyme that we use in book club during poetry month to illustrate how, just like music, language can have rhythm too. A consistent cadence, "I heard...Splish Splash, Rumba-Rumba, Bim-Bam, Slapping BOOM!" takes our characters from scary swamp to cozy bed.
Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters is a lullaby book that follows a gathering of silly monsters leaving school and heading to their cave for dinner. They scramble into their bath and bed where, presumably, they should drift off to sleep. Instead the little monsters bounce, grumble and protest their way to dreamland. This is a sweet, short, rhyming read aloud to encourage our little ones to drift off to sleep themselves. The illustrations by Kelly Murphy are creative and fun with little 'monster' touches throughout: a monster head houseplant, Cree P. Elementary School, Tentacle Surprise for dinner and lots more.
Treat your young listeners to both of these fabulous October read alouds. To find these and other books at our library, visit www.newberglibrary.org.
Reviewed by Amanda L.,
Children's Staff
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