Tag rumours

Beware the Blue Bagoo

jillrbennett 1 Comment

Beware the Blue Bagoo
Karl Newson and Andrea Stegmaier
Happy Yak

Rumours are rife about the Blue Bagoo: a mean marauding monster to be feared, that is for certain. But wait a minute: has anyone actually met or even seen this beastie that supposedly likes to dine on humans. Now there’s a young detective determined to uncover the truth. She roams the streets finding plenty of people ready to make statements about the monstrosity but what she discovers is something of a surprise.

Can she convince her fearful fellow townsfolk that they’ve got it all wrong? Or is it her that’s wrong after all …

Rumours are nasty things, they spread rapidly causing people to jump to conclusions about all kinds of things rather than finding the truth for themselves. Nobody should make a judgement about another person based on hearsay or appearance. With its cleverly executed twist, Karl’s rhyming account of the escalating rumours in the seaside community of Rumourville, and one person’s resolve to find the truth, contains a crucial message for us all. It’s one that’s particularly pertinent in our troubled times of misinformation. Andrea Stegmaier’s illustrations are terrific fun

and the way she varies the layout of her spreads keeps the visual impact high; there’s a smashing portrait style close up and a fair degree of quirkiness throughout.

Add this to your list of must reads.

Monster in the Hood

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Monster in the Hood
Steve Antony
Oxford University Press
When a notice appears in town warning of THE MONSTER IN THE HOOD, Sammy Squirrel, Henri Hedgehog and Marvin Mouse all want to see the creature for themselves. Sammy dares it to show itself: “Come out, come out, wherever you are! You won’t scare us!” he shouts. The only response is a squeak but that’s from a pack of rats, one of which warns of the large orange-eyed monster. “The monster in the hood … grumbly and rumbly and will eat you for dinner.” Does this scare the pants off the fearless trio? Most certainly not; it’s Henri’s turn to address the monster this time and as he does so,

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there comes a screech, which turns out to be a cloud of bats. They add ‘huge shaggy hands’ to the monster’s attributes but do nothing to ruffle the cool headedness of the three monster seekers.

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Marvin Mouse tries his luck at calling for the creature and no sooner has he completed his challenge than a ‘clutter of cats’ comes by with words about a ‘big scary mouth’ – to no avail of course. The intrepid trio try calling in unison and out of the silence steps …

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Yes, it definitely matches the description given by the rat, bat and cat but none of them has given the vital piece of information that makes all the difference; and that related to what it didn’t have – a friend. Seemingly the other animals were wrong about what the monster really wanted after all – or, were they?
I love the night-time urban setting and the wacky characters of this twisted cautionary tale and Steve Antony’s choice of colour palette is, as ever, spot on. Every time I see a new book from this guy, I think ‘that’s my favourite’ but then along comes another and another and …

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