Let's play monsters!

Three-year-old Gabriel encourages various family members to playact monsters in a cavorting game of chase around the house. Eager to participate, older sib Josie becomes "green and scary, / with sharp, pointy teeth / and feet that are hairy." Uncle Rufus sprouts imaginary "horns like a cow / and a tail like a pig." The family pet, Kitty Cat, has "long sharp claws, / all scritchy and scratchy," and Nonna becomes a "bright-pink jelly / with big round eyes / and feet that are smelly." While the monsters chase the child, Gabriel easily escapes, chortling "Hee, hee, hee! / But you can't catch me!" in a continual refrain that kids will easily repeat. The rhyming text is as much fun to recite as the game of chase is to watch. The story unfolds with comforting predictability, Gabriel inviting play on one double-page spread and on the next gleefully running away from the humorously transformed family member. Cousins' signature, childlike black-outlined drawings in bold primary colors enhance the romp all the way to the last dinosaurlike monster, Mommy, who has spikes on her back and gobbles little boys up. Just as the day is ending, Gabriel is caught and, not surprisingly, becomes his own monster "with a funny green head, / who is tired and sleepy / and ready for bed." Gabriel, Uncle Rufus, Nonna, and Mommy all present white; Josie is a child of color. The frolicking diversion validates a child's imaginative ability in an engaging bedtime scenario. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.