The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Nolen, Jerdine

Plantzilla

32 pp. | Harcourt/Silver Whistle | September, 2002 | Trade ISBN 0-15-202412-3 $$16.00

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. At first, Mortimer Henryson's parents are pleased that he wants to bring home the class plant for the summer. But when it becomes larger and starts eating meat, and when the dog disappears, they get worried and try to contact Mortimer's teacher. The story, which is told in epistolary form, is witty and clever if too wordy, and Catrow's delightfully quirky images offer an amusing counterpoint to the letters' formality.

Reviewer: Mark Adam