August 1, 2018
A new student at Monster Academy turns out to be more than she seems.The students at this school are definitely different from the norm, although the things they do will seem familiar. For instance, Miss Mummy makes a chart of the number of teeth each student has lost. (She speaks only in rhyme due to a curse, making the read-aloud switch between her dialogue and the rest of the text, which is in prose, a bit of a challenge.) Poor Vic, a vampire, is distraught to have lost no teeth, and he spends the day working at his wiggly fang. New student Tornado Jo, meanwhile, isn't fitting in. The other monsters want her to behave. In the end, it's revealed that she's a human! And her behavior does start to change, but for no real discernible reason. Troubling messages hide within this rather slight tale: Vic is anxious to lose a tooth so he won't be "a ZERO anymore," and Jo is said to be "scary" and a "monster, too," seemingly because of her behavior. But her obstinacy, peremptory ways, and dizzying energy can seem like the actions of children with oppositional defiant disorder or ADHD--in other words, not monstrous. McKinley's illustrations play up the goofiness of the various monster students and their school, which is rather monsterlike in its own right. Skip; there is little good that kids will learn at Monster Academy. (Picture book. 4-8)
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July 1, 2018
Preschool-G Welcome to Monster Academy, where creatures of all stripes attend. Enter new student Tornado Jo, who spins so fast, she crashes into lunchboxes, knocks down chairs, bumps into classmates, and yells a refrain of NO! NO! NO! During math time, the teacher asks the students to write how many teeth they have lost. Everyone takes a turn but Vic, a little vampire, but before the day is over, his tooth is gone! Tornado Jo, meanwhile, eventually spins so fast, she falls out of her costume?revealing a little girl. Though the story is all over the place, this rather riotous book has a good message about accepting others for who they are inside rather than out?something the monsters realize when Jo helps find Vic's tooth. McKinley's colorful, flailing art whisks the fun right along.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
July 2, 2018
The mother-daughter authors (You Nest Here with Me) introduce a class of monsters taught by a mummy cursed to speak only in verse. Mayhem erupts with the arrival of a new classmate, Tornado Jo, a fuzzy, round being that has a one-word vocabulary: “No!” The lesson of the day is counting lost teeth, and a young vampire is dismayed that he still has both of his fangs, a dilemma that continues as Tornado Jo upends the classroom. The story’s underlying message of accepting and embracing differences surfaces when Jo is revealed to be a much-feared human in costume—“ ‘I get it!’ says Vic. ‘We’re scary, but so is she!’ ” McKinley (the Ready, Freddy! series) doesn’t stint on goofy details: there’s a frog-like female with hissing snakes for hair; a bulbous, polka-dotted creature with corkscrew horns; and a boy whose face is dominated by a single oversized eye. Though riotous pictures provide chuckles, the narrative’s alternating verse and prose makes for a rocky rhythm, and the jumbled story ultimately feels clunky. Ages 4–8.
January 1, 2019
At Monster Academy, Miss Mummy's monstrous pupils undertake science experiments and search for Vampire Vic's recently lost fang. A new student's contrary behavior becomes the scariest thing in school, earning her the title "Worst Monster Ever!" (even after a plot-twist revelation about her humanity). Humorous details (e.g., Miss Mummy is cursed to speak in rhyme) and colorful pastel-hued illustrations keep the story playful and energetic.
(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)