Hello, friends! Today’s book is The Chupacabra Ate The Candelabra, written by Marc Tyler Nobleman and illustrated by Ana Aranda, the tale of three goats facing off against a legendary monster.

Jayna, Bumsie and Pep are enjoying a twilight picnic one night when Jayna warns that they should head home soon – lest the fearsome Chupacabra happen upon them! You see, the mysterious monster lives nearby, and is rumored to have quite the taste for goat meat! The three goats decide to confront the monster, using a candelabra to light their way. But when they arrive at the Chupacabra’s lair, they find that he is hungry – for their candelabra! Promising to return with more candelabras to stave off the monster’s appetite, they head home. Except they have one problem: that was their only candelabra!

This one is a bit of mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s got fantastic Mexican folk art-style illustrations that are wonderfully colorful and fun, as well as great dialogue and clever wordplay (I dare anyone to say “The Chupacabra ate the candelabra AND the cucaracha!” without cracking a smile). However, there were two things that put me off a bit: first, the length is a bit much for baby bookworms (JJ was starting to get antsy), though that probably wouldn’t bother older kids. However, the conclusion, in which the goats submit themselves to feeding the Chupacabra to stave off his hunger with goat cheese is a bit weird. Oh, he promises that he doesn’t eat “friends,” but there’s definitely something vaguely sinister about it, and makes for an odd conclusion. Otherwise, JJ did love the art, and it was quite a bit of fun to read, so ultimately this one is Baby Bookworm approved!