Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

LEONARDO THE TERRIBLE MONSTER

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Willems, Mo. 2005. Leonardo the Terrible Monster. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 078685294-1

2.   PLOT SUMMARY

Leonardo is a monster who is unable to scare people around him.  He contemplates his lack of numerous teeth, his modest size, and his general averageness. Leonardo practices endless ways to scare people, and is unable to do so.  When he finds a young boy that he thinks may fall victim to his monster prowess, he strikes.  The result is a tearful young boy who admits that his tears have nothing to do with Leonardo, but all about the boy’s recent stressors.  After hearing the young boy’s tears, Leonardo experiences a change of heart, and he and the young boy become magnificent friends.

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Mo Willems is known for his charming illustrations and story lines.  This book does not disappoint.  The simple sketch illustrations enhance the text with a calm color scheme of pastels and greys.  However, the font utilized by Willems is distracting at times, especially on the page when the young boy shares his recent frustrations.  On these critical two pages, the closely spaced and bubbly font makes it difficult to maintain the required beat and intonation required when reading the book out loud.

Young children will enjoy the characters and connect with both Leonardo and the boy. It will be refreshing to see that even supposedly tough, strong monsters are insecure.  The generally abstract setting also allows the story to connect with diverse groups of readers, and children of all ages and ethnicities will be able to connect with the monster, Leonardo.

While a predictable ending, the story does teach a valuable lesson about friendship and the perils of bullying others.  Some may find the lesson a bit overplayed and pontificating, but the moral is clear and will easily reach the intended young preschool audience.

4.  REVIEW EXCERPTS

Starred Review in School Library Journal: “Willems's familiar cartoon drawings work hand in glove with the brief text to tell this perfectly paced story.”

An ALA Notable Book

Written and illustrated by Caldecott winner, Mo Willems.

Publishers Weekly: “an appealing book”

Kirkus Reviews: “superb control of pacing”

5.  CONNECTIONS

*Read other stories about other unlikely friendships.

Parker, Mary Jessie. 2005. Wild and Wooly.  Ill. by Shannon McNeill. New York, NY: Dutton Juvenile. ISBN 978-0525472766

Ward, Helen. 2012.  The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.  Ill. by Helen Ward. Surrey, United Kingdom: Templar.  ISBN 978-0763660987

*Teaches children that bullying is hurtful, a current theme in education.

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

MILLIONS OF CATS

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gag, Wanda. 1928. Milllions of Cats. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-698-11363-2

2.   PLOT SUMMARY

In this classic storybook, an elderly man and woman decide that a cat would cure their loneliness.  The man sets out to obtain a cat.  After a walk over the hills and valleys, the man comes across a hill filled with an enormous number of cats. As the man chose a beautiful cat for him and his wife, he saw another cat that was equally beautiful.  He decided that he needed that beautiful cat as well.  As he proceeded to leave the hill with his cats, he found another beautiful cat, and another beautiful cat.  The old man eventually gathered the millions of cats and brought every one of them home to his wife.  Upon arriving home, the wife immediately determined that they could not feed them all and stated that they would keep only the “prettiest” cat.  At this announcement, the cats started arguing and completely devoured each other.  Only one cat was left and it was underfed and ugly.  They fed it, gave it love, and it grew into a beautiful cat that was loved greatly by both the man and the woman.

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Wanda Gág (rhymes with blog) writes a classic story that is still enjoyed over 80 years after its first publication.  The illustrations are basic black and white with an almost timeworn feel to them.  The double page spread of illustrations, first created by Gág, is utilized throughout the book.  While the illustrations are beautifully rendered, present day children may not appreciate the simplicity of the drawings and their timeless qualities. 

Gág’s repetitive use of the phrase “hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats” make this book a joy to read out loud.  The cadence of the words roll off the tongue in a manner that prompts frequent readings of the story.  While the setting of the book is discernable from the illustrations, there is nothing within the narrative itself that would discourage readers from engaging in the story line.

The moral lesson at the end of the story lends to the development of the plot.  The character development of the old man and woman is clear at the end of the book when they pronounce their formerly homely kitten as the prettiest cat it the world.  The message that love can alter how you view another living being is evident in both the illustrations and the text. 

Overall, Millions of Cats is a delightful book to read to young preschool children.  The melodic phrases regarding the number of cats guarantees the placement of this book on the must read list.

4.  REVIEW EXCERPTS

Newbery Honor 1929

Wanda Gag posthumous recieved the 1958 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for Millions of Cats and the 1977 Kerlan Award for the body of her work.

School Library Journal’s 100 Best Books for Children states that Millions of Cats has the “distinction of being the American picture book that has continuously been in print the longest. “

The New York Times: “A perennial favorite.”

School Library Journal’s One Hundred Books That Shaped the Century: ”Considered by many to have ushered in the age of the modern picture book, this Newbery Honor winner is characterized by innovative design and a strong storyteller’s cadence.”

5.  CONNECTIONS

*A story reminiscent of the story of the Ugly Duckling; one that reminds us that we often grow into our beauty.

Anderson, Hans Christian, adapted by Jerry Pinkney, 1999. The Ugly Duckling.  Ill. by Jerry Pinkney. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0688159320

*Other books by Wanda Gag display her classic style of illustration.

Gag, Wanda, 2004 (republished). Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.  Ill. by Wanda Gag.  Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.  ISBN 978-0816644209

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith

GRANDPA GREEN

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Smith, Lane. 2011. Grandpa Green. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 978-1-59643-607-7

2.   PLOT SUMMARY

In this beautifully illustrated book, Lane Smith shares the story of a young boy’s great grandfather who recreates his memories in garden topiaries. The boy’s walk through the garden recreates the life of Grandpa Green. The plants in the garden have been shaped by the grandfather to commemorate special events in his life. The young grandson encounters Grandpa Green’s recollections of having the chicken pox and his time as a soldier.  The child notes that his grandfather may be, at times, forgetful, but “the garden remembers for him.”

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS

While the book follows the young boy on a walk in the garden, and the illustrations show him with all of the topiaries, he is not the main character of the book.  It is not until the very end of the book that the reader encounters the main character, the great-grandfather.  The young boy acts as a narrator of the great-grandfather’s life story.  Young readers will be entertained by the child’s whimsical and age appropriate interactions with the garden topiaries. Adult readers will be touched by the heart-warming recollections from the grandfather’s life.

Witnessing the young boy’s capers in the garden reminds the reader that youth is full of life, just like the topiaries.  Aging and the grandfather’s loss of memory is not glaring at the reader on every page of the book, however, it is clearly the theme of the book.  With this in mind, the lovely illustrations share the garden and its memories without any obvious intent to acquaint the reader with the specifics of the aging process of a loved one.

This classically illustrated book shares the delicate aging process with young readers. The simple text succinctly tells a man’s life story, and his desire to create a lasting legacy in his garden.  The story is timeless and the young boy’s acceptance of his grandfather’s aging process will comfort children and grandparents of all ages and cultures.

4.  REVIEW EXCERPTS

Caldecott Honor Book 2012

New York Times Best Illustrated Book

Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book

A School Library Journal Best Book

Society of Illustrators Silver Medal 2011

Junior Library Guild Selection

New York Times Book Review:  "An unassuming little masterpiece…the book’s power lies in its rich, allusive artistry.”

Starred Review in School Library Journal: "Visually intriguing and emotionally resonant, this is a book to pore over and talk about. With each subsequent reading, it offers new layers of meaning and visual connections.”

The New Yorker: “In this affecting picture book, a boy recounts the life of his beloved great-grandfather…The author’s illustrations, a blend of line drawings and sponge painting, have a classic feel, and make clever use of the topiary theme, rewarding close examination and repeated reading.”

Booklist:  “Sketched with a finely lined fairy-tale wispiness and dominated by verdant green, the illustrations are not just creative but poignant.”

5.  CONNECTIONS

*A book that helps children understand old age and the passage of time.  The book also demonstrates how people create material objects to memorialize love ones.

*Other books written and illustrated by Lane Smith:

Abe Lincoln’s Dream. ISBN 978-1596436084

It’s a Book.  ISBN 978-1596436060

The Big Elephant in the Room.  ISBN 978-1423116677

*Books that focus of reminiscing of the past and memories of special people:

Bunting, Eve. The Memory String.  ISBN 978-0395861462

Polacco, Patricia.  The Keeping Quilt.  ISBN 978-0153052125