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Summary
Summary
In Valiska's wise and wonderful story, a little girl's phantom fears are turned into make-believe friends. Every night Kate imagines scary things creeping through the door in her room. If you can think them up, then you can think them out, say her parents. But Kate can do better than that. Full color.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1``In Kate's new room there was a door, small and curious as Kate herself.'' So begins the child's struggle to overcome her fears of the night creatures she imagines lurking in the attic. First her father, then her mother responds to Kate's calls, each time transforming the colors of the room from a menacing purply-black to a soothing peach. Both parents advise her, ``If you can think them up, then you can think them out.'' As her room darkens a third time and giants crawl out of the door, plucky Kate commands them to ``STOP!'' and they retreat. The triumphant child then reconjures all the monsters, but this time as friendly companions. Complementary illustrations of pencil and watercolor, with expressive details such as the moonlight shining through Kate's window or the owl in the picture frame whose expressions change to mirror the girl's feelings, provide an alternately spooky and peaceful backdrop to the pleasing text. Kate's powers of imagination resemble Max's, and several frames bear a striking resemblance to certain illustrations in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are (1963) and We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy (1993, both HarperCollins). An enchanting read-aloud or lap book depicting a situation familiar to most young children.Tana Elias, Meadowridge Branch Library, Madison, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Offering a zippy twist to a familiar theme, Gregory (Through the Mickle Woods) introduces a girl frightened by the creatures she imagines at night-ghosts, beasts and giants that ``scritch'' and ``slither'' through a small attic door in her new bedroom. ``If you can think them up, then you can think them out'' is the aphoristic refrain sounded by both her parents. And the star of the story does just that-and then goes a step further by deciding to ``think in'' friendly creatures. Austin's (Go to Bed!) full-spread illustrations, rendered in pencil and watercolors, show the girl appropriately frightened and small in her corner of the bedroom, while allowing lots of space for the imaginary creatures to fill. Her marauding lions and bears, etc., seem poised to pounce but are not ferocious enough to terrify the reader. In terms of composition, draftsmanship and palette, many of the fantasy sequences seem modeled on Maurice Sendak, but Austin adds a few idiosyncratic touches, such as a painting of an owl that mimes Kate's reactions. Inspiring self-reliance, this inventive story is just the ticket for children afflicted by a bogeyman. Ages 3-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Ages 2^-6. Young Kate must negotiate an important passage in life when she begins to imagine that scary things are hiding behind the little door to the attic in her new room. Although Mom and Dad try to bolster her confidence--" If you can think them up, then you can think them out" --it takes a few false starts before Kate summons the courage to confront the creatures, banish them, and realize that if she can "think out" the scary things, she can also "think in" friendly creatures. Austin uses soft pencil lines washed in watercolor and clever details to illustrate Gregory's bedtime tale. Delicate peach hues lend a heartening tone to the double-page spreads when Mom and Dad give Kate reassurance, but when the lights go out, the warm tones shift to grays, blues, and violets: the owl in the picture next to Kate's bed mirrors her apprehension, and the tree, moon, and clouds outside her window take on strange form. Even the youngest will appreciate Kate's imagined bears and giants, which appear more inquisitive than frightening, and may try her solution to this familiar challenge of childhood. --Linda Ward-Callaghan