When Amy's parents bring home her new baby brother, pandemonium breaks loose. When it's time for baby's nap, Amy and Little Monster pretend they're elephants. At bathtime, the bathroom floods. Then the VCR breaks. Amy insists that Little Monster is the culprit, but Amy's parents suspect that someone else is being a little monster!<P>Helen Cooper's rib-tickling tale is sure to ease the anxieties of any former only child!<P>"The cozy watercolors and appealing text make this take on sibling rivalry a ...
When Amy's parents bring home her new baby brother, pandemonium breaks loose. When it's time for baby's nap, Amy and Little Monster pretend they're elephants. At bathtime, the bathroom floods. Then the VCR breaks. Amy insists that Little Monster is the culprit, but Amy's parents suspect that someone else is being a little monster!<P>Helen Cooper's rib-tickling tale is sure to ease the anxieties of any former only child!<P>"The cozy watercolors and appealing text make this take on sibling rivalry a winner." --<i>Booklist</i><P>* A Picture Puffin <br>* Full-color illustrations<br>* 32 pages<br>* Ages 3-7
A small girl's favorite plush toy seems to be responsible for the mischievous "accidents" that begin occurring when a new baby brother joins the household.
It's a time-honored story of newly minted sibling rivalry, but the clarity of Cooper's (The Bear Under the Stairs) writing, coupled with the rich, pastel-like textures of her watercolors, gives this book a winning warmth. Amy is ambivalent at best about her new baby brother, but there is no doubting how her plush toy named Little Monster feelshe shows his displeasure by putting bagels in the VCR, flooding the bathroom, etc. Finally, Mom seems to win Amy over by pointing to her little brother's vulnerability: "What would he do without us?" Mom says. Amy conjures up a vision of the baby adrift at sea; alarmed, she offers to dry his toes as an act of reconciliation. But Cooper knows that children seldom achieve closure all at once; Little Monster has one more act of rebellion in store before understanding that there is room and love enough for everyone. Cooper's text is a marvel of wisdom and balanceshe respects Amy's stormy emotions, but tempers them with just the right amount of humor: for example, when Little Monster and Amy are admonished to behave at one point, the heroine tells the reader, "We ran downstairs and pretended we were orphans." The cozy, sure-handed illustrations of Amy and her slightly rumpled parents play an equal role in describing the proceedingsand more than a few pictures hint at Little Monster's autonomy, giving the whole story a solid, mischievous tweak. Ages 3-7. (June)
School Library Journal
K-Gr 2A young girl and her stuffed monster are not at all thrilled when Mom brings a baby home from the hospitala new little brother who needs entirely too much attention. Little Monster proceeds to express his displeasure, with plenty of surreptitious help. After stomping around loudly, opening a hot-water bottle in bed, stuffing a bun into the VCR, and other misdeeds, Little Monster flees a pair of wrathful parents, finding refuge at last in the baby's crib. Cooper's figures, rendered in a realistic style reminiscent of Shirley Hughes's work, move through softly lit, richly colored rooms that look well kept even when toys are strewn about. The author of The Bear Under the Stairs (Dial, 1993) gives a familiar theme a deft twist and a logical, satisfying resolution.John Peters, New York Public Library
Helen Cooper is the only illustrator to win the Kate Greenaway Award for two consecutive books: The Baby Who Wouldn't Go to Bed and Pumpkin Soup. In 1994 she won the Smarties Young Judges' Award with The Bear Under the Stairs.
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