Child Cruncher, TheILLUSTRATED BY Ages: 2-6 Grades: Preschool Pages: 32 List Price: 16.95 Cover: Hardcover Published: 8/1/2008 ISBN: 1-59078-635-1 ISBN-13: 978-1-59078-635-2 |
"Gottcha!" hissed the fierce robber. "Off to my cave!" One summer evening, Molly is so bored that she dreams up an adventure with a fierce villain. But being kidnapped is not as thrilling as Molly had hoped. Her big ugly villain turns out to be an ordinary child cruncher, not a fierce robber. What a disappointment! Instead of going on all sorts of adventures by horseback, he only wants to eat her up. Luckily Molly knows just what to do. Taking the situation into her own hands, she finds her way home to her father who is at home worrying about nothing as usual. Reviews"The child radiates a smiling self-confidence in van Hout's cartoon art, which reflects the narrative's breezy tone, and the clumsy, blustering Bad Guy—endowed with both a ferocious scowl and a fuzzy plush bunny—comes across as far more comic than threatening. Even younger and more sensitive children will be left smiling by this droll, if brief, import." "A wiry girl outwits a kidnapping ogre in this visually enticing story from the Netherlands. ... Full of fun." "This protagonist exhibits self-confidence similar to Charlotte, who is featured in Stein’s Mine! (2007), and the bubbling child cruncher is as nonthreatening as the monsters along the path in Stein’s Brave Ben (2006, both Lemniscaat). The dynamic illustrations are consistent with van Hout’s work in those titles. ... The style serves to reinforce the action in the story while allowing for plenty of details for careful readers to discover. The result is a far-fetched adventure that will have children cheering for their heroine." |
