Chae Strathie (text) & Emily Golden (illustrations)
(Scholastic)
When the stars finally appear at the end of the day and gentle snores begin to be heard from bedroom windows, strange little creatures appear from the sky. Flying down on their magical broomstick, full of beans and ready to play, the Fabulous Flapdoodles look like they might be troublesome. But it soon becomes clear they have a really important role to play: bogeymen, ghouls, trolls and other night-time monsters all scatter when the Flapdoodles are about!
There is something so deliciously Dr Seuss-esque about this book. This is due to its zany storyline and creatures, and its well-structured rhyming text, which brings fun and energy to the story, but most and foremost it is thanks to the way Emily Golden interpreted Chae Strathie’s lovely text, creating Flapdoodles that are wacky and fun, and could easily be distant cousins of Sneetches! There are plenty of other creatures though, all fun and non-threatening looking, and there is a lot of detail in the illustrations for little readers to get engrossed in. There is something very joyful about her illustrations, which is partly thanks to the vibrant colours that she uses. It is very modern, but it works well and is extremely child-friendly.
Like many Dr Seuss stories, those creatures are also very mischievous and little readers will enjoy witnessing all their monkey business! But they also serve a purpose: they are here to watch over children while they sleep and to shoo monsters away. Therefore The Fabulous Flapdoodles is a great bedtime story and reassuring tale for little people who might have a few worries about night-time. I had really enjoyed Chae Strathie and Emily Golden’s first collaboration, The Loon on the Moon (see my review here) which I had found quite original both for its artwork and its storyline. This second collaboration does not disappoint.
Illustrations © Emily Golden
Many thanks to Scholastic for sending me a review copy of “The Fabulous Flapdoodles”.
Oh, I love the look of this. It really is quite striking how similar it looks and sounds to Dr Seuss (never a bad thing in my book!) We’re always on the look out for good bedtime reads, esp at the moment while Milo seems to feel that bedtime is for wimps. 🙂
It is really lovely, and so is “The Loon on the Moon”, their first collaboration.
I remember that phase with my son, good luck!