Monsters Eat Whiny Children

This cautionary tale about whiny children being eaten by monsters is upended when the monsters cannot decide how best to prepare their meal. A whiny child salad doesn't work because there's paprika in the dressing. A whiny child cake won't do because the flour spills all over the floor. Whiny child burgers are out of the question because the grill is too hard to light. When the persnickety monsters finally decide that whiny child cucumber sandwiches are the perfect solution, their whiny children have escaped. At least the children have learned their lesson...for now.

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3–For those who like their picture books with a little edge and offbeat humor, this is a surefire hit. Henry and Eve are "going through a TERRIBLE phase"; they whine constantly and are eventually stolen by a monster and taken to his lair. To be fair, their kindly father did warn them. Luckily, the monster and his wife whine and argue even more than the children, and cannot agree on what to make: whiny-child salad, burgers, or vindaloo? On the advice of a deliciously cantankerous aunt, the monsters finally agree on simple whiny-child cucumber sandwiches on fluffy white bread. In the meantime, however, the clever children escape, having learned an important lesson about whining–mostly. The recipe for cucumber sandwiches, minus the whiny children, is included. Kaplan's minimalist cartoon illustrations bring to mind Quentin Blake's work and complement the humorous, quirky text with its askew frames, thick black lines, and color accents. The book makes a great read-aloud. Opportunities for whiny monster voices abound, and readers are guaranteed a laugh when the monster's wife insists she cannot eat whiny-child cake because her bottom is too big.Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Take a dollop of Edward Gorey, add a dash of Lemony Snicket and a soupçon of Struwwelpeter, stir briskly, and voilà! You have Monsters Eat Whiny Children. New Yorker cartoonist Kaplan’s first picture book for children is a droll cautionary tale about what happens when whiny little Henry and Eve are kidnapped by a hungry monster and whisked off to his house. There, the monster and his wife begin to argue about how to serve the kids, who are sitting in a salad bowl, still whining. Then a neighbor arrives with his own idea of a menu (whiny-child burgers), and the kitchen is soon filled with disputatious monsters, and, sure enough, their bickering eventually allows the kids to make an escape. Kaplan’s distinctive cartoon drawings adorn each page and—no surprise—add a seasoning of welcome humor. As a bonus, the endpapers feature a mini adventure that invites readers to employ their own imaginations. Grades K-3. --Michael Cart

About the Author

Bruce Eric Kaplan, known for his distinctive, off-beat single-panel cartoons, has been a New Yorker cartoonist for more than fifteen years. He is also a television writer and was an executive producer for the acclaimed HBO series Six Feet Under, as well as a writer on Seinfeld (funnily enough, one of his most well-known episodes is one where Elaine becomes increasingly frustrated over what she takes to be an utterly nonsensical New Yorker cartoon). He has authored and illustrated seven adult titles including the cult classic The Cat That Changed My Life; the collections I Love You, I Hate You, I’m Hungry; No One You Know; and This Is a Bad Time; and three titles featuring the wonderfully neurotic Brooklyn couple Edmund and Rosemary: Every Person on the Planet, Edmund and Rosemary Go to Hell, and Everything Is Going to Be Okay. Bruce is also the author and illustrator of four picture books: Monsters Eat Whiny Children, Cousin Irv from Mars, Meaniehead, and Someone Farted. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

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