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(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Scott Campbell.
A girl with puffball pigtails contentedly chomps on an apple amid a quirky crowd. The next spread repeats the tableau--but with all the faces (except the girl's) shown as skulls. With snappy writing Thornburgh describes a skull's importance (it's "a car seat for your brain") and its functions, while Campbell packs plenty of humor into his muted watercolors. "Cool Skull Facts" are appended.
Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2019
40 pp.
| Disney-Hyperion
| September, 2018
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4847-8969-8$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Scott Campbell.
Roderick is a major bedtime procrastinator. Desperate, his parents give him Sleepy, a "goodnight buddy" stuffie of indeterminate species. Unfortunately, Sleepy has a list of demands ("It's too dark in here. / Now it's too bright," and so forth). Although Roderick gets a taste of his own medicine, its bitterness is diluted by Campbell's pillow-soft digitally tweaked watercolors supporting Daywalt's cheeky-chummy story.
32 pp.
| Abrams
| May, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4197-2290-5$16.95
(3)
PS
Illustrated by
Scott Campbell.
Robot siblings Buzz, Crash, and Beep need to "enter sleep mode" and recharge after a long day. Slumber doesn't come easily for the amiable Brobots, what with Beep's fear of monsters, case of the "flick-ups," and other distractions. The all-dialogue text ("Affirmative"; "This does not compute") reinforces the robotic personas while the chunky yet soft pastel, watercolor, and pencil illustrations convey common bedtime angst.
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Scott Campbell.
Most children probably won't understand this "love story," written as letters between a clumsy ox and the snobby gazelle with whom he's infatuated. The more Gazelle rejects and criticizes Ox, the more loving his letters become until the happy resolution, told through endpaper illustrations. The scrawly, sprawly colored-pencil and watercolor pictures are both funny and elegant, but this is a book for adults.
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Scott Campbell.
Zombies Mortimer and Mildred (Zombie in Love) worry about their new baby: his teeth are coming in instead of falling out, and they don't know what to make of his strong heartbeat and sunny disposition. The zombie perspective--in which baby sleeping through the night is exhausting--is a silly twist on the new-family dynamic. Watercolor illustrations use humor to soften the ghoulish tale.
32 pp.
| Atheneum
| September, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4516-4879-9$17.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Scott Campbell.
Visually interpreting Bob Dylan's whimsical song of the same title, Campbell leads two children and their dog through a fanciful landscape with an ever-increasing number of canine playmates before they make their way home. The gleeful watercolors provide the music to Dylan's (slightly too out-there) lyrics, supporting poetic phrases with tangible images of a world where dogs (and children) do as they please.
32 pp.
| Atheneum
| January, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-689-85828-4$16.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Scott Campbell.
Two dragons, each of whom fears that the other is mightier, finally meet when one, rescuing a king, is felled by a pirate's arrow and needs help. It's a satisfying if sometimes silly story about finding friendship where you least expect it; too bad it plays out a bit circuitously. Campbell's chunky watercolors do right by the Eastern and Western motifs.
32 pp.
| Atheneum
| August, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4424-0270-9$12.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Scott Campbell.
Lonely Mortimer the zombie tries hard to woo a sweetheart using chocolates (with worms), a heart (real), and a shiny ring (still on a finger). A unique personal ad--"If you like taking walks in the graveyard..."--builds tension as Mortimer waits for a match. Muted watercolor illustrations take the edge off the macabre by infusing humorous details throughout the zombie love story.