Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Edward R Emberley, Emberley, Edward R. Emberley

Publishers Weekly

The Caldecott Medalist makes wonderful use of innovative production techniques in this ingenious offering. Differently diecut and boldly colored pages reveal increasingly scary features of a big green monster--on the first spread, we see two big yellow eyes; on the second, the eyes plus a long blue nose; and so on, until the monster is fully unmasked. But that's only half the story. ``You don't scare me!'' reads the caption after the monster is shown in all its horror. Turn more pages and, one by one, the scary features disappear, as does, of course, the monster. ``And don't come back! Until I say so,'' the text concludes. A joy to read aloud, the simple story entertains even as it helps its audience master common fears. Emberley's striking approach should win him new fans aplenty. Ages 3-8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Die-cut holes in the cover reveal the "two big yellow eyes" of the title hobgoblin in Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley (first published in 1992). The sturdy laminated pages that follow also have die-cuts that show the monster's fleshy "long bluish-greenish nose," "a big red mouth with sharp white teeth" and more. But the text gives readers the confidence ("You don't scare me!") to take away its scary features with each succeeding page turn until he's gone-"and don't come back! Until I say so." A fun way to conquer fears. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

PreS-- A graphic delight. In the tradition of Lois Ehlert's Color Zoo (1989) and Color Farm (1990, both HarperCollins), this is a clever series of die-cut pages that lets children construct and then deconstruct a big green monster. The book starts with a black page, and two round eyes gleaming through the text. ``Big Green Monster has two big yellow eyes.'' Each page adds a new adjective-laden element, including a ``long bluish-greenish nose'' and ``scraggy purple hair'' until the culmination of effects prompts a response of, ``YOU DON'T SCARE ME! SO GO AWAY . . . .'' Each subsequent page subtracts one of the scary pieces until the last page is entirely black, featuring the words, ``and DON'T COME BACK! Until I say so.'' This imaginative original work is a most friendly way in which children can take control over their own ``monsters'' or nightmares. It also has great visual appeal because of the bold interplay between shape and color. --Elizabeth Hanson, Chicago Public Library

BookList

For a younger audience than Bradbury's "Switch on the Night" (also reviewed in this issue), this striking picture book takes a hands-on approach to dealing with nighttime fears. In fact, it may be hard for parents to pry their kids' hands "off" the book and get them to bed. Using die-cut, black pages, the book begins with the monster's "two big yellow eyes" glowing through round holes. Each flip of a page displays more features shining in electric colors through new holes--"a long blue nose / a big red mouth with sharp white teeth / two little squiggly ears . . . ," and so on--until the narrator announces, "You don't scare me! So GO AWAY scraggly purple hair . . . ," and dismisses the monster page by page, feature by feature, like the departing Cheshire Cat. In the last half of the book, the monster appears on pages in the same vibrant colors that showed through the cuts in the black pages. Graphically playful and exciting, this picture book promises to jazz up any story time and to give individual children a measure of control over at least "one" monster.

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