Review by Booklist Review
Little Shop of Horrors meets And Then There Were None in this surprisingly jolly story of a plant that swallows up the many members of one family. A big part of the jollity belongs to the work of French illustrator Barroux, who uses friendly geometric shapes and a finger paint--like wash of colors, done in acrylic paint, shaded in pencil, and outlined in pen. The narrator, a white boy with a head like Charlie Brown's, has a birthday party, and his sister, parents, one set of grandparents, and the family cat all attend. The boy's favorite gift is a green plant named Ivy, which has two leaves that look like open jaws. Whenever he has to leave, the boy is careful to leave someone in charge of Ivy, but each time he returns, the plant has grown bigger, and there is no sign of the cat, then the sister, then Grandpa, then Grandma, then his parents--until the whole family vanishes inside Ivy. The resolution, including a lecture on manners, is highly satisfying.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--French absurdism, perfectly suited to children's sensibilities, arrives in this book that is part doodle, part effortless- looking watercolor brushstrokes. It's our narrator's birthday! His favorite present is a small green plant named Ivy that he has to watch over and take responsibility for. As he goes about his week, the narrator deploys different family members to "keep an eye on Ivy" when he has to be elsewhere. Strangely enough, his family members subsequently disappear. Where could they be? Barroux has created a wonderful tale that is a mixture of Little Shop of Horrors and "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," sure to delight and creep out readers. Each page is repetitive in structure and aids the plot, leading up to the grand reveal and finale. The text is simple, in a crisp layout, with only a few words that may not be part of a child's vocabulary. While the type is small, the illustrations will be visible to the back row, making this great for story times. Each scene shows the difference between the vibrant green plant and the duller colors of the characters, highlighting the plant's growth and sharing clues about each family member's whereabouts. VERDICT A first choice read-aloud that will keep kids guessing and laughing, with a chantable refrain and a great payoff.--Margaret Kennelly, Media Specialist, Indian Head Elementary Sch., MD
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Little Shop of Horrors for the Oshkosh set. The delighted young narrator of this French import understands that they need to care for the small potted plant they receive as a birthday gift. But being a busy kid, they ask sister Susie to watch it on Monday while they're off to judo class. On Tuesday they ask Grandpa to tend to the somewhat larger plant for a bit, since Susie is nowhere around. On Wednesday, it's Grandma's turn, since Grandpa's evidently out…and so it goes, as family members vanish one by one while Ivy grows in successive scenes into a vine-y green tangle sporting a gape-mouthed, Pac-Man--style pod. (Sharp-eyed viewers will spot Susie's saxophone and other clues to what's going on in the background.) When at last the kid wonders aloud where everyone is, the pod lunges out with a startling page-turn pop-up, and (with another turn) everything goes black. Happily, no one's actually been digested, and in the next picture they are all back out in the light, looking on with annoyed expressions as the kid delivers a stern lecture to Ivy: "It's rude to swallow people without asking first!" Barroux lays down color highlights with broad, energetic brush strokes but draws the family's heads as unfilled outlines with dot-eyed features, so the human cast is paper white. Good for any time a mildly scary story is in order. (Picture book/novelty. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
