Review by Booklist Review
The party-loving little monsters last seen in Happy Birthday, Monster! (2007) return in a sleepover story that's filled with uproar and slapstick. A hungry skeleton finds a worm in his apple but discovers that both are delicious. A floating ghost nearly collides with a space creature, but they kiss and make up. At bedtime, a restless corpse refuses to lie down ( I have been asleep for centuries ), and the next morning, a robot makes pancakes, or tries to. The bright acrylic illustrations create comedy from each scenario, and kids will look forward to future adventures from the ghoulish crew.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Little monster Doris cleans up her house so a vampire, a mummy, and other creepy creatures can visit for a sleepover. The page layout and design effectively relate various episodes in the evening's escapades. Each spread features a different activity, such as fortune-telling or playing "Simon Says." The illustrated panels of sequential art and speech balloons evoke comic books targeted at older readers. A single line of text appears under the panels. The short, simple sentences and controlled vocabulary are well suited to beginning readers. For instance, the narrator asks, "Is she getting ready for a party?" and then realizes, "Oh, it IS a party! It's a sleepover party!" The book's episodic structure does not make for a sustained, linear narrative; however, it captures the frenetic atmosphere of an elementary school sleepover. Bright, acrylic paintings enhance the lively tone. Beck's silly sense of humor will delight young readers, who will giggle when Doris's mom sends the little monsters to bed and tells them, "Don't bite the bedbugs tonight!"-Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
What fun do little monsters have when they get together? Doris, a small green dragon in a lavender dress, cleans her house (with a rake!); the text asks readers, "Is she getting ready for a party?" A parade of guestswhich includes a ghost and a young boy vampireprovides the answer. All carry bedrolls: It's a sleepover! The group plays Simon Says, Doris tells fortunes, robot and mummy get into a scuffle, the hungry skeleton grabs an apple from a fruit bowl and eats the worm inside. Beck tells the story in simple, direct sentences beneath bordered acrylic panels, usually four to an opening but occasionally spreading out for two, that have only a handful of elements. Judicious use of speech balloons helps to develop the characters: "I will not go to sleep!" proclaims the mummy. "I have been 'asleep' for centuries. / I'll get in my sleeping bag but I will NOT go to / Zzzz" It's got a disjointed simplicity that borders on the avant-gardeloopy but appealing. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
