Go Away, Big Green Monster!

Go Away, Big Green Monster!

OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD!This classic interactive book that has been helping children chase away nighttime fears for 25 years is perfect for Halloween--and all-year round!Caldecott Award-winner Ed Emberley has created an ingenious way for children to overcome bedtime frights. As kids turn the die-cut pages of this vibrantly illustrated book, they'll watch the Big Green Monster grow before their very eyes. Then, when they're ready to show him who's in charge, they'll turn the remaining pages and watch him disappear!Ed Emberley's groundbreaking book about mastering fear and emotion through play and imagination has been a bestselling favorite for decades and feels as fresh and innovative today as it did 25 years ago.From Publishers WeeklyThe Caldecott Medalist makes wonderful use of innovative production techniques in this ingenious offering. Differently diecut and boldly colored pages reveal increasingly scary features of a big green monster--on the first spread, we see two big yellow eyes; on the second, the eyes plus a long blue nose; and so on, until the monster is fully unmasked. But that's only half the story. "You don't scare me!" reads the caption after the monster is shown in all its horror. Turn more pages and, one by one, the scary features disappear, as does, of course, the monster. "And don't come back! Until I say so," the text concludes. A joy to read aloud, the simple story entertains even as it helps its audience master common fears. Emberley's striking approach should win him new fans aplenty. Ages 3-8.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.From School Library JournalPreSchool-- A graphic delight. In the tradition of Lois Ehlert's Color Zoo (1989) and Color Farm (1990, both HarperCollins), this is a clever series of die-cut pages that lets children construct and then deconstruct a big green monster. The book starts with a black page, and two round eyes gleaming through the text. "Big Green Monster has two big yellow eyes." Each page adds a new adjective-laden element, including a "long bluish-greenish nose" and "scraggy purple hair" until the culmination of effects prompts a response of, "YOU DON'T SCARE ME! SO GO AWAY . . . ." Each subsequent page subtracts one of the scary pieces until the last page is entirely black, featuring the words, "and DON'T COME BACK! Until I say so." This imaginative original work is a most friendly way in which children can take control over their own "monsters" or nightmares. It also has great visual appeal because of the bold interplay between shape and color. --Elizabeth Hanson, Chicago Public LibraryCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Kirkus ReviewsBy turning these stiff, die-cut pages, even very young children can assemble a green monster with ``two big yellow eyes...a long blue nose...[and] a big red mouth with sharp white teeth...'' and then make it go away again, feature by feature. Emberley, a Caldecott medalist whose delightful drawing books demonstrate a combination of rudimentary forms to create a world of images, uses simple shapes in bright colors to build a scowling, cartoonish face that seems to float against the solid black field- -scary, but deliciously so. A satisfying game that may also allay some nighttime fears. (Picture book. 2-5) --Copyright