Hello friends, and Happy Halloween!! Our book today is Priddy Books’s A Mischief of Monsters, illustrated by Lisa and Damien Barlow, a festive board book of spooky critters.

Focusing on three main concepts – big and little, sounds, and action verbs – this sturdy board book features a colorful collection of furry, slimy, and squishy monsters of all shapes and sizes. Each spread shows a little monster and a big monster performing a set of rhyming actions (snore and roar, munch and crunch, etc). There are also tactile elements: raised and sunken features on each monster that fit into the monster on the opposite page.

Creepy yet cute. Bright colors and extremely creative, expressive creatures are a feast for the eyes, and the tactile elements are nicely done from both a visual and sensory standpoint. There are a few areas that falter a bit, however: the text is surprisingly small for this type of book, even with the action/noise words set in a larger typeface. There’s also a few pages that lean into the “gross” section of imaginary monsters, such as one that shows a small purple monster covered in green ooze (“squelches”) – it’s not the type of thing that would offend every kid or parent, but does appeal to a certain type of sensibility and humor. But overall, this is a fun, spooky-themed romp that most any little monster would enjoy – JJ certainly did! Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)