In 19 laugh-out-loud stories, Marie-Louise Gay (Princess Pistachio; Stella and Sam series) takes a look at what goes through the incredible minds of children (and worms and cats...). The perfect first "chapter" (each chapter is a single two-page spread, often with panels and speech bubbles, à la graphic novels) sets the stage for the glorious stories to come. A girl begs to tell her impatient older brother what she sees when she closes her eyes. When he finally sighs and tells her to go ahead, she lets loose with a fantastical wordless scene of pink polka-dotted elephants, giant birds and trees made out of clocks. "Hurry up! We're late," says her brother, but the girl is blissfully oblivious. Subsequent chapters reveal the inside of a snail's shell when one snail comes calling on another: a cozy home with armchairs, pots of tea, throw rugs, bookshelves and pleasant conversation. In Zombie Mom, a pair of siblings discover the terrible truth: that mothers can see through ceilings when mischief is happening. And in What Do Trees Talk About?, readers are treated to a forest full of griping ("Yuck! My skin is so dry and white. It feels like paper!"), giggling ("[The bunnies are] tickling me again!"), gossiping ("Orange hair!! What next?") trees.
Gay is masterful in her ability to climb into the imaginary worlds of children. Part Calvin and Hobbes, part Far Side, Short Stories for Little Monsters is elevated to a higher plane by her lovely watercolor and collage cartoon-style illustrations. Every story is quirky, beautiful, funny and true. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor