Review by Booklist Review
Like the dinosaur in Shea's Dinosaur Vs. books and the shark in I'm a Shark (2011), Buddy, a bunny-eating monster, should be big and scary, but instead he is packed with goofy charisma that kids will find irresistible. Buddy is a great big orange-striped monster who shows up and announces that he is going to dine on all bunnies present. The bunnies, however, are just about to bake some cupcakes. Like any sensible, hungry monster, Buddy decides cupcakes first. Bunnies for dessert. When he is finished with the cupcakes, though, he has no room left for bunnies, and he promises to come back tomorrow. And so it goes, through one trick after another, as Buddy is outsmarted, until he finally realizes that the bunnies make better friends than tasty treats. Shea's crazy humor pervades the book, from the hilarious back and forth between potential diner and would-be meal to his floppy, exaggerated art, filled with warm colors and cheery personality. Adults will be delighted to share this with young readers.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The star of Shea's Dinosaur vs. books may dominate his foes, but not so with shaggy, orange-striped, and ill-tempered Buddy the monster, who tries and fails to eat a passel of cute, white bunnies. "No, please, no! We were about to make cupcakes!" three bunnies wail, stopping him in his tracks. "They played hide-and-seek while the cupcakes baked," and Buddy fills up on treats. He returns the next day, and five bunnies propose that they go swimming. "If you bunnies are half as delicious as you are nice, I am in for a treat," Buddy admits. The next day, seven bunnies take him to the carnival (sticking to "spinny, whippy rides" that give Buddy an upset stomach), and the next, eleven admonish him with the book's sideways title. With recent longer comedies like this one and Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great, Shea's digital art and one-joke narratives have blossomed. While this romp predictably favors the underdogs, Shea's energized colors, subtle background textures, and manic visuals keep the eye moving, while the shouty dialogue, hapless monster, and sneaky rabbits amplify the silly suspense. Ages 4-8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Buddy, a monster, has no use for flowers, trees, or pretty much anything in nature. What he really wants is bunnies. "I'm going to eat all you bunnies!" he announces to three rabbits. They convince him to play hide-and-seek until their cupcakes come out of the oven and, after munching the goodies, he's too full to eat bunnies. "Would you bunnies mind if I eat you tomorrow?" he asks. The next day they entice him to go swimming before he eats them. "You musn't go swimming right after you eat! You'll get a cramp!" Then "they look so cute when they're napping" after their swim that he can't possibly eat them. Next the bunnies form a "Stripey-Stripe Club" in Buddy's honor and vote to spend a day at the carnival, which makes him too dizzy to eat them. "Okay, no more fooling around./Today I'm going to eat you bunnies first thing," he declares next day. But the bunnies, in a delightful surprise ending, have an argument their nemesis just can't refute. This is a hilarious romp made all the more enjoyable by Shea's cartoons outlined in black crayon. Buddy is a small orange fellow with bulging eyes and a cavernous mouth, ever seeking a tasty bunny treat. Backgrounds change continually and are often decorated with stars, curlicues, and other symbols. The carnival day, depicted on black ground, is especially bold. Alert readers will notice the bunnies keep multiplying. Pair this laugh-out-loud caper with Linda Bailey's Toads on Toast (Kids Can, 2012).-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The book hasn't even started yet and already Buddy the monster is making threats, roaring his way through the opening endpapers, the title and copyright pages, and into the story, where he yells at some cute little rabbits, "I'm going to eat all you bunnies!" "Oh, no!" they cry, but then they persuade him to eat some cupcakes instead--so many cupcakes that he has no room for bunnies. The next day, Buddy is back to eat them, but they suggest going for a swim first, and so it goes for several days, as the ever-increasing number of bunnies form a club in his honor and take him to the carnival. By the end, Buddy realizes how terrible he would feel if he lost his companions (by eating them), and the closing endpapers show the monster dancing instead of roaring, surrounded by dozens of rabbit friends. Shea works visual humor into every page, beginning with the raucous and not-very-scary monster, using little black lines to show energetic motion and the tilt of an ear to indicate emotion. This rambunctious story won't get kids settled in for bedtime, but it will sure make reading time a treat. susan dove lempke (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Buddy is one cranky, hungry monster. He yells at the mountains, the trees and even the sun. "You're not so hot, SUN!" But whom does he like to yell at the most? Bunnies! He's going to eat them up. "No, please, no!" the bunnies quiver. "We were about to make cupcakes!" Buddy, not one to fall for trickery, declares, "Cupcakes first. Bunnies for dessert." But of course, after eating nine cupcakes, he's far too full to eat another bite. He promises to return for the bunnies the next day. Thus, the manipulation continues. The bunnies take him swimming so he's too tired to eat them. Then they form the Stripey-Stripe Club--in honor of Buddy and his orange stripes! Buddy is having so much fun with the bunnies that he forgets the old adage: Don't play with your food. Well, now he can't eat the bunnies because they have becomehis friends! Buddy, the chubby little monster, looks suspiciously similar to a certain red dinosaur (Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, 2008, etc.) and has the bravado to match. The ending goes a beat too far, but Shea's storytelling still shines. Children often see themselves as the underdog in an adultcentric world; they'll be rooting for the bunnies (all threeno wait, 72 of them). (Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
