Your pal Mo Willems presents Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world

Willems' stable of elephants and pigs cede the stage to a slightly more nuanced take on the changeable nature of friendships. Meet Sam, a bespectacled, overalls-clad kid who chatters his teeth at the slightest provocation: raindrops, spiders, ominous news headlines, you name it. He's not scared of Leo, though, a horned, Sendak-style monster. They encounter Frankenthaler, a purple, brace-faced beast, and Kerry, who, tiny text informs us, is "the second-most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world." Weirdly, the human kids are scared of each other. The monsters, having better things to do, take off, telling the kids, "Figure it out." That they do, cavorting across single-color, starkly framed Elephant and Piggie–style pages, quickly becoming friends who share many wonderful fears, as well as a few unique to only one of them. It's a peculiar book, overtly about the shifting alignments of friendships, but also, more subtly, about fears of the other. The characters are a little less cute than most of Willems', though intriguingly so. An oddball offering, for sure—Willems in a minor key. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: It's Willems' world; we just live in it. Expect the usual outrageous demand. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Twelve years after Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, Willems brings back Leonardo the monster and Sam, the boy who's afraid of everything (except Leo). Sam grabs the spotlight in this sequel, but he has competition: after running into a girl named Kerry and her monster pal, Frankenthaler, both of the young humans start screaming, terrified of each other. Annoyed, the monsters ditch the kids. "Figure it out," says Leonardo, strolling off the page with Frankenthaler. And they do: Kerry and Sam's timidity gives way to appreciating their differences and similarities—including a mischievous streak. Visually and narratively, this story is a lovely bookend to Leonardo; Willems makes use of the same sketchy cartooning, drab palette, distinctive fonts, and expanses of open space as he demonstrates that starting a new friendship—scary as it might seem—is worth it. Ages 3–5. Agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt. (Sept.) Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly.

PreS-Gr 1—Sam is scared of everything! Everything besides his wonderful friend Leonardo the Terrible Monster, that is. One day Sam makes a particularly terrifying discovery—Kerry and her monster friend Frankenthaler. Kerry just so happens to be the second most scaredy-cat kid in the world (after Sam, of course). Left alone together, Kerry and Sam are forced to face their fears and each other. Together they discover that they have more in common than they think. In addition to being scaredy-cats, they both hate romantic movies and love ice cream. They also learn a lot from their differences—Sam likes to play the flute, while Kerry prefers to rock out on her electric guitar. The pair soon realizes that perhaps other children aren't so scary after all. In the end, much to their monsters' surprise, the two scaredy-cats are replaced with two new friends. In this follow-up to Leonardo, The Terrible Monster, Willems has done it again. He makes the most of the oversize pages, which are sometimes filled with big, bold, text, and sometimes left nearly empty with tiny text or pictures for emphasis. The combination of capital letters and expressive illustrations is classic Willems, and will have young and the old laughing the whole way through. VERDICT Highly recommended for all library and at home collections. A perfect storytime read-aloud.— Elizabeth Blake, Brooklyn Public Library Copyright 2017 School Library Journal.

Sam and Kerry, the two most fearful kids in the world, discover the horrors that are each other and resolve to do something big about it. By the three-time Caldecott Honor-winning creator of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

When two fearful children are terrified of each other, their respective monsters try to help.

A TERRIFICALLY TERRIFYING TALE!Sam is afraid of anything and everything-except for his friend Leonardo, the terrible monster.Kerry is afraid of everything and anything-except for her friend Frankenthaler, the other monster.One day, the two scaredy-cat kids make a particularly scary discovery: each other!AAH! EEK!Something has to be done. Something BIG. But what?