Ethan Long

That monstrous crew, the Fright Club, return in this second picture-book devoted to their adventures, this time confronting the terrifying reality of... love! Fran K. Stein in making a Valentine, something his fellow monsters (and other cute members of the club) have trouble understanding. Surely love, with its mushiness and kissing, is gross? Or is it...?

Like its predecessor, Valensteins pairs an engagingly spooky tale with appealing, dark-toned illustrations. Young children will enjoy the show more silly humor, as the members of the club try to figure out what the pink heart Fran K. Stein is cutting out, is meant to be. Could it be a pink butt? The teeth of a frightening mask? The conclusion, in which our hero and his lady love are labeled "weird" for sitting and looking at the moon, had me finishing up the story with a chuckle. Recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed Fright Club, or who is looking for spookier Valentine's Day fare for the picture-book set. show less

Busy planning for the upcoming Halloween celebrations, Vladimir the Vampire and the other members of the Fright Club have no time for the cute little bunnies knocking at the door, wanting to join their group. When the bunnies show up with a lawyer, the monsters continue to ignore them, but then a full-blown protest gets going, and things get pretty hairy. It turns out that cute critters can be just as frightening as the monsters...

An entertaining, lighthearted Halloween-time romp, Fright show more Club touches upon issues of inclusion and belonging, but does so without descending into any sort of preachiness. Youngsters with a sense of humor, and a taste for ghoulish tales will enjoy seeing the bunnies and other cute animals prove that they too have a few Halloween-night tricks up their sleeves. The illustrations, done in graphite on dark paper, and then enhanced digitally, is suitably creepy, with a cartoonish style kids will enjoy. Recommended to all young monster lovers, and to anyone looking for fun new Halloween fare for the picture-book set. show less

Ethan Long's concept stories are one of the new comic easy reader series and one that, I think, is successful because it stands on its own and doesn't try to imitate other popular series. Like, as it may be, Elephant and Piggie.

Three short chapters illustrate three prepositions in hilarious art with quirky characters. The first story, "Let me in" features Hen who has been booted from her own coop by the other animals during the rain. Why? Open the lift-the-flap door and you can see it's show more crowded! But Hen has a solution for that...and the other animals are out in the rain themselves. Hen is back in "Jump over" as the other animals try to get her over or under the fence. Neither one works, but fortunately Cow has a solution. Pig is the protagonist of the last story, "I am on" and he certainly is - on the tractor that is! One by one the cow and goat join him until....they are no longer on the tractor. Sploosh!

Ethan Long's simple lines and colors develop the minimalist text to its full funny potential. What are at first bland sentences illustrating the prepositions become hilarious statements when paired with the animals' expressions, ranging from deadpan to mischievous, and their wacky antics.

Verdict: I'm always looking for the very beginning easy readers, with just a few words. Although this is in no way similar to the sweet and silly antics of Elephant and Piggie, Ethan Long has the same ability as Willems to capture a whole story with just simple illustrations and a few words. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780399169076; Published 2015 by Putnam/Viking; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

It’s funny how many funny easy readers feature dancing animals - Ballet Cat, Elephants Cannot Dance, and now Ethan Long’s quirky addition, Dance, Dance, Dance! Horse is really putting down the moves, when Buggy shows up and asks what she’s doing. How can Horse be dancing if there’s no music? The music is in her head! Buggy decides she wants to dance too - and she can be just as good as Horse - but she is having trouble getting going. Fortunately, Horse has a solution!

Long’s show more cheerful cartoons show a long-legged horse and a fluffy fly with long eyelashes. The two dance across brightly-colored pages, their text in square speech bubbles.

Verdict: Hopefully this new series will continue; it’s sure to be popular with emergent readers, although the characters don’t have quite the unique pull of more long-running pairs like Elephant and Piggie. At least not yet!

ISBN: 9780823438594; Published 2018 by Holiday House; Purchased for the library show less