Sweet friendship between Hattie and the "terrifying" lake monster, Hudson. Candlewick Press is the best! ( )

Thanksgiving family read-aloud picture book binge.

This was the first book of the binge to actually have a story, but I was disappointed to find it bland and dull, building to a hoax and publicity stunt of which I disapproved. ( )

Hattie goes out in her canoe and encounters a lake monster. He is friendly and she calls him Hudson. Other people on the lake panic and call a meeting to get rid of him, so Hudson and Hattie cook up a plan to show them how nice he is and that he should stay. (Similar theme to The Circus Ship.)

Too much text for my 2yo, but we'll revisit later. Lovely bright blues and greens in the illustrations. ( )

loch ness monster story? it does end happily ever after ( )

Hattie loves going to the local lake and canoeing on a nice summer day. One day as she is singing, she peaks the interest of a monster that lives down in the deepest part of the lake. He never ventured close to the surface. The creature listened to her song and even joined in! As she was singing the last note, someone screamed. People pointed and some screamed at the giant monster. The creature silently slid back down into the depths of the lake. That night Hattie was worried about the creature, so she went back to the lake. She sees the creature and they become fast friends and she names him Hudson. Hattie goes to a meeting with her dad and they want to get rid of the creature. It is up to Hattie and Hudson to come up with a plan to make them see that Hudson is not a monster, but a very sweet creature. I would recommend this for anyone liking books about creatures and friendship. The photographs are bright and colorful and they keep the readers’ attention throughout the story. ( )