Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by Gris Grimly and reviewed by Sarah Hammond

As this is the first Awfully Big Blog Adventure Review of October and as Halloween is just around the corner, are you in the mood for a deliciously ghoulish monster story? 

If so, read on. This time, I have chosen to review the picture book Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi.

Set in the monster-inhabited town of Booville, we are introduced to two wonderfully incompatible neighbours. Bella Legrossi is so disgustingly messy — ‘her slime is the slimiest, her grime is the grimiest’ — that she has to live alone. Next door, Boris Kleanitoff is so persnickety — vacuuming his bats and dusting his cobwebs — that no one lives with him, either. 

The two polar opposites despise each other. They hurl insults. They delight in excluding each other from their monster shindigs. 

Until Halloween, that is. 

Both Bella and Boris plan rival parties, but to their horror, both sets of invitations are politely declined in favour of Harry Beastie’s Halloween bash. For the first time, the warring neighbours share something: a grudge against Harry. As ‘Halloween night soared in on bat wings’, Bella and Boris reluctantly attend his event. 

There are many ghoulish delights at the party: snake-spit stew, bobbing for eyeballs and a skeleton connecting his hipbones to his neckbone 'just for fun' to name a few. Much of the charm of this book is found in its wicked humour, word play and devilish details. 

What happens? As the two disgruntled guests unite in their critical assessment of Harry’s party, Bella and Boris learn that perhaps they have something in common that might take the edge off their mutual dislike… 

Structurally, this book has a tight neatness that Boris would be proud of. The illustrations add much to the atmosphere of the story, too. Gris Grimly chooses a sepia colour palette and a quirky style reminiscent of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. The characters are expressive, the visuals are witty and humorous — the grill with sharp teeth at Bella’s bar-boo-cue, the unravelling mummy dancing the night away... We have a strong sense of the monsters' world. 

This story also has a big heart. As well as reading gory details and monster jokes, we watch uncompromising and objectionable characters soften, find common ground, and ultimately the basis for a new friendship. Learning to compromise and become tolerant is a special talent. I closed the book feeling satisfied and with a smile on my face. 

www.sarahhammond.org

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I’m coming to Get You! By Tony Ross review by Lynda Waterhouse

After wreaking havoc on the planets of its own galaxy, a hungry monster sets off in its spaceship for a pretty blue planet called earth. A little boy called Tommy brown, who is particularly scared of monsters, is singled out for a visit………

This picture book first published in 1984 feels strangely relevant today as some of our current world leaders appear to have adopted the name calling rhetoric of the loathsome monster in the story. This monster spends his time hurtling towards tiny peaceful planets, calling out, “I’m coming to get you!” before gobbling up everything in its path and leaving planets looking like chewed up apple cores.

Tony Ross wrote the story and illustrated the text with large ink and watercolour drawings of the monster who looms large and fills every page. The accompanying text is sparse with no more than two sentences on each page but the language is rich and resonant with touches of humour, ‘It chewed up the mountains, and drank the oceans. It had jellyfish for afters.’

The monster, who is never satisfied, sets out for a planet called Earth. The monster finds little Tommy Brown on its radar and sets out to ‘get’ him. Tommy and his ever present (and expressive) teddy bear check the house and listen out for any unusual noises whilst the monster hides behind a rock and waits for the dawn. The tension builds

As morning comes and Tommy sets out happily for school the monster pounces with a large wooden stick in hand. There are no words on the final double spread for the picture tells the whole story. The monster is miniscule and the stick a mere spent matchstick!

This is a wonderful story to read aloud. Children love to feel the tension of the monster coming and then laugh at the final image. It can be used in the classroom to cover themes about space, fears and monsters. It can just be read for fun!

Published by Anderson Press www.andersonpress.co.uk

ISBN 978-1-84270-743-2

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DARKMOUTH by Shane Hegarty: reviewed by Gillian Philip

He's a young apprentice in a world of dark magic, he's destined to battle world-threatening monsters, and he's not very good at it.

It's a tale-as-old-as-time, and that's as it should be. One of my favourite things in this world (and all the others) is reworked legends, and Shane Hegarty's twist on the fabulous creatures of myth is as quirky and smart and funny as you could wish.

Finn (who doesn't have a surname – yet) lives in the Blighted Village of Darkmouth, where he and his father - Hugo the Great – are just about tolerated by the inhabitants. The village itself is a kind of nightmare combination of insular rural small-town and Buffy's Sunnydale; people with any sense can't wait to leave, and that includes the local police sergeant.

For many generations, Finn's family of Legend Hunters has protected Darkmouth and the world beyond it from the monsters – the Legends – who have a habit of slipping through the barrier between the worlds. An occasional car or boat might get crushed, but the locals can live with that so long as the minotaurs, basilisks and manticores are stopped in their tracks.

Luckily, Dad Hugo is enormously good at his job: he's practically a legend himself. This is galling for poor Finn, who has to live with the stories of his father's prowess (usually told by his father) while being thoroughly incompetent himself. All Finn wants, really, is to leave Darkmouth and become a vet. He's a sweet, clumsy but very brave young hero, and enormously relatable for any young reader.

Not only is Finn expected to graduate to full-fledged Legend Hunter like yesterday; he discovers that his father will shortly be promoted to the governing body of their order, and will be leaving Darkmouth under Finn's sole protection. Of course this has to happen just as a major Legend incursion is threatened. And Finn has to deal not just with that, but with bullies, school, and intriguing newcomer Emmie – who seems to know more about Darkmouth than she's letting on.

Hegarty sets a cracking pace, but the increasing tension and the sometimes brutal scares are nicely offset by a dry and punchy humour. Stunning illustrations by James de la Rue are a gorgeous and atmospheric enhancement to the story. It's the first book in a series, and it ends on something of a cliffhanger – but not without some satisfactory resolution to the first episode.

Any child who loved Beast Quest will be thrilled to graduate to this dark, funny and complex tale of monsters and mayhem; it will enchant lovers of myth, legend and a rattling good story. I gulped it down – appropriately enough – in a single bite.


Darkmouth by Shane Hegarty: Harper Collins £6.99

www.gillianphilip.com

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