Review - There's an Alligator Under My Bed

There's an Alligator Under My Bed
by Mercer Mayer
Date: 1987
Publisher: Dial Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

The nightmare's gone, but what about that alligator? You have to be so careful getting in and out of bed! Maybe a midnight snack to lure him into the garage will do the trick. In this funny and beloved follow-up, Mercer Mayer faces another nighttime fear head-on.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I enjoyed There's an Alligator Under My Bed much more than There's a Nightmare in My Closet. Rather than resorting to physical violence to deal with the bedtime threat, the child uses his intelligence and comes up with a way to lure the alligator out of his bedroom. (Sure, now there's an alligator in the garage... but that's Dad's problem!)

This is a simple book from a simpler time. It deals with bedtime fears in a charming and entertaining way. The illustrations are similar to those in There's a Nightmare in My Closet, and though I like them a little more here, that may simply be because I enjoyed the story more.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.67 out of 5

Review - The Fall Festival

The Fall Festival (Little Critter Readers)
by Mercer Mayer
Date: 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Join Little Critter and his family on their exciting road trip to the Fall Festival From apple picking to hayrides, discover how fun the harvest season can be.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I don't know. Maybe Little Critter just isn't for me. I'm familiar with the character, but this is the second of the Little Critter Readers I've tried, and it just didn't excite me. I suppose when I'm seeing a book with this much text, I'm looking for more of a story. This is basically just Little Critter and his family going to the festival, buying apples, picking a pumpkin, and playing some games. Little Critter eats too many apples throughout the day, but that's really the only interesting thing in the story; the rest is sort of like a list of things that the family does.

The pictures are sort of cute, but I think the fact that Little Critter creeps me out a bit is colouring my view of these books. Also, in this one, he keeps talking about other "critters". Now, I thought that a "critter" was some nondescript guinea pig-type creature. But in this book, "critters" are all sorts of things: raccoons, bears, mice, etc. It's bad enough that this kid is named "Little Critter", but now we find out that "critter" isn't even that specific? It would be like naming your human child "Little Vertebrate". Kind of weird...

Anyway, I think I've said enough about this one. I know this character has his fans, but I don't even know if I'd recommend this book to them. It's really light on plot, and doesn't really offer much (except maybe some nudges and winks to parents about sticky kids whining about getting a huge pumpkin).

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2.33 out of 5 ladybugs

Review - Just Helping My Dad

Just Helping My Dad (Little Critter Readers)
by Mercer Mayer
Date: 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Join Mercer Mayer's classic and beloved character, Little Critter, as he spends the whole day with his dad in this My First I Can Read book!

From getting rid of a beehive to working in the yard and going to the store, Little Critter wants to be the world's best helper. Things might not always go as planned, but that doesn't stop Little Critter from trying his hardest!

Little Critter: Just Helping My Dad is a My First I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for shared reading with young children.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Who is the audience for this book? I certainly wouldn't give it to a child. Little Critter spends all day modelling terrible behaviour, from spray-painting the house to trying to whack a beehive with a baseball bat, all under the guise of "helping". Oh, and who left the car windows open before Little Critter decided to wash the car? (Paying better attention could've saved Dad a lot of headaches.) Adults will probably find this book more amusing than kids. There aren't enough consequences shown to make this a decent book for kids; it's more of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink between parents about their rambunctious kids' antics. (Some of those antics are downright dangerous, though. Who lets a preschooler play with a lawnmower that can take off on its own? That's a recipe for severed toes right there.)

The pictures are fine, but I just don't like the story. Little Critter might mean well, but his parents should know him better and stay on top of things. He probably caused hundreds of dollars of damage, and it's played for laughs. I'm not impressed.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall: 2 out of 5

Review - There's a Nightmare in My Closet

There's a Nightmare in My Closet
by Mercer Mayer
Date: 1968
Publisher: Dial Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

The pesky nightmare in the closet won't stay in there at night, even with the door closed all the way. When he gets out, what do you do? Comfort him and put him to bed, of course! The ultimate afraid-of-the-dark story has helped generations of kids deal with the nightmares in their own closets. A perennial favorite.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I'm conflicted. For what it is, and taking into account when it was written, it's a cute story.

However, we live in an age of school shootings and people thinking that guns will solve all their problems. Showing a child solving the problem of a nightmare by shooting it with a rifle might not play well to a 21st-century audience. In this case, yes, it's a toy gun. But there are kids out there with real guns, and I don't think we should be encouraging them to shoot at things that come through the door.

From a 1960s perspective? This is probably a four-star book. The way the boy comforts the nightmare (the poor thing just got shot at, after all; he's allowed to be upset) is sweet.

From a 2010s perspective? The kid shouldn't have been shooting nightmares in the first place. And since the nightmare isn't really a bad guy, there could've been other ways of handling the conflict in the story.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5

Review - Just a Little Sick

Just a Little Sick (Little Critter Readers)
by Mercer Mayer
Date: 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Little Critter has a day off from school

When Little Critter feels just a little sick, Mom lets him stay home from school. Hooray! But between visiting the doctor and staying inside all day, missing school is not what Little Critter expected.

"Just a Little Sick" is a simple story--perfect for emergent readers who are eager to join Little Critter on his adventures.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I know I read books about Little Critter when I was a kid, and I appreciate that he's a well-known and well-loved character. But the story in this book just didn't do it for me. It seems more like Mom is keeping him home to mess with him more than she's trying to protect him. He's "just a little sick", so his mother wants him to stay in bed. But he has a good appetite, he's well enough to want to play, and even when he starts to feel a little icky, he's refreshed by a nap. I don't know what ails this kid, but it certainly doesn't warrant his mother dragging him off to the germy doctor's office (where he could potentially catch something else) so the guy can sell them a big bottle of... something. Little Critter feels just fine, and when they get home, he wants to play with his friends. Mom says no. Now, I understand if she doesn't want him to spread whatever he's got, but that doesn't seem to be the issue. She's got a power trip going, and she doesn't want it to stop. She forces the kid back to bed, presumably so she can feed him more dry toast.

I get that the book is trying to show kids that being "just a little sick" might not be so fun after all... but the way the story goes about showing that is weak. It's not being sick that's the problem here. It's Mom's overbearing nursing of an illness so minor that the reader can't even tell what it is. Little Critter has a fever. That's all we know.

To me, it read more as Mom punishing Little Critter for being sick and having to stay home. But if she wants to listen to a kid whine from his bed all day because he's bored and hungry and cranky, that's her prerogative, I guess.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall: 2 out of 5