rabbitearsblog's reviews
13 reviews

 I have been reading the Brothers Grimm’s stories for years now and I was surprised that I found a picture book that adapted the obscure tale of “The Six Servants.” Judging by the artwork on the cover by Sergei Goloshapov, you will seriously be treated to one heck of a nightmarish journey through the land of fairy tales in this book!

In this story, a young prince hears about a queen who has a beautiful daughter and the only way that any man will marry the queen’s daughter is if they complete the three tasks that the queen sets for them. Unfortunately, none of the other suitors were able to complete the tasks set by the queen and they ended up being beheaded for their troubles. So, the young prince decided to take a journey towards the cruel queen’s palace in order to marry the princess and along the way, he meets six strange men who all possess unique abilities such as one servant being able to eat everything twice his size and another man whose gaze can shatter anything it touches. But as soon as the prince and his servants make it to the queen’s palace, the queen decides to give the prince three impossible tasks to fulfill before he marries the princess.

Can the prince and his servants complete the queen’s difficult tasks?

Read this book to find out!


This was a truly fantastic book from the Brothers Grimm about the power of trust and courage and I loved the way that there was plenty of drama and fantasy in this story as they made it really interesting to me! I especially loved the scenes where the servants showed off their unique abilities such as the fat man eating all of the oxen and wine in the queen’s cellar in one gulp and the tall man stretching himself out to get to the Red Sea to retrieve the queen’s lost ring. This story strongly reminded me of the Russian folktale “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship” (except a little darker in tone) as both stories involved the main character meeting up with several strange people who all possess special abilities that help out the main character with the tasks given to him by a royal figure who is bent on making sure that the main character does not marry their daughters. I really loved the fact that this story has so many ties to “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship” since I am a huge fan of “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship” and I have always enjoyed reading folktales and fairy tales that are similar in tone and style to that story. Sergei Goloshapov’s artwork is both surreal and haunting to look at as the characters are drawn in exaggerated styles, especially the image of the man that can see across the world and has an extremely long neck that seems to look wobbly from the reader’s point of view.

Parents should know that this book has some nightmarish imagery as the artwork can be a little too dark and surreal for some small children to handle. There are some scenes in this book that can cause nightmares for some smaller children, such as the scene at the beginning of the book where we see several stick figures in the background being hung in the gallows after the text describes about the queen chopping off the heads of the would be suitors who did not complete her tasks. Parents might want to read over this book first to make sure their children can handle the dark themes shown throughout this book.

Overall, “The Six Servants” is a fantastic book for anyone who is a huge fan of the Brothers Grimm’s works and loves reading books that are dark and imaginative. I would strongly recommend this book to children ages six and up since some of the imagery and content in this book might be extremely disturbing for smaller children.

Taken from my Book Blog:   Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] The Six Servants by Brothers Grimm 

At this point, I had almost read every book written by Henrik Drescher and almost every one of them was brilliantly unique and creative to look at! “The Boy Who Ate Around” is clearly one silly and creative book from the creative mind of Henrik Drescher that I just had to check out and this is definitely a story that most children do not want to miss!

When a young boy named Mo refuses to eat his dinner which is lizard guts and bullfrog heads (actually it is really string beans and cheese soufflé), he ends up eating AROUND his dinner and ends up eating everything including his math teacher and his parents, leaving his string beans and cheese soufflé untouched!

Alright, so the moment that you see the cover of this book of a crazed Pinocchio look-alike boy looking at his dinner with a crazed look on his face and you have four bizarre looking monsters surrounding the boy; you know that you are in for a wild ride! Henrik Drescher has done a brilliant job at both writing and illustrating this book as this is easily one of the most surreal books I have ever read! Henrik Drescher’s writing is full of oddity and creativity as the story about how a boy starts eating around his dinner by turning into random monsters was seriously bizarre to read about! What I always loved about Henrik Drescher’s works is that he brings so much creativity to his work that I am always finding myself being so interested in what story he comes up with next. This story was quite unusual since it is not everyday I read a story about a young boy turning into a monster to eat around his dinner, but it was really interesting to see how Mo handles not being able to eat his dinner and finding an odd solution to his problem. Henrik Drescher’s illustrations are truly creative as the monsters that Mo turns into are truly creative to look at, especially the image of the green warthog monster that is completely green and has large bulging eyes.

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because while the illustrations were creative and colorful, they are a bit too chaotic as they are all over the page. Also, some of the illustrations might be a bit too creepy for smaller children since there are many monsters in this book and the monster that would probably creep out children the most would be of the image of the bug-eyed slime slusher that has many eyes all over its body.

Overall, “The Boy Who Ate Around” is a great book for children who love reading about monsters and love surreal storylines. However, I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since some of the imagery is a bit too scary for smaller children.

Taken from my Book Blog:   Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] The Boy Who Ate Around by Henrik Drescher 

 “McFig and McFly” is illustrator Henrik Drescher’s latest children’s book and it is certainly one of his most dramatic books ever created since Simon's Book. In this tale, two neighbors named McFig and McFly started competing with each other to see who has the better house. “McFig and McFly” is a wonderful tale about how being too competitive can produce consequences for oneself, but children might be a little disturbed by the scene where a character dies.

Henrik Drescher’s illustrations are creative and childish at the same time, which is in the similar style of Gruesome Guide to World Monsters. Henrik Drescher makes McFig sport glasses and have a curly mustache and blonde hair while he makes McFly look a little more handsome than McFig by him sporting a huge eyeball that is mainly seen from the side of his face (which the reader only sees the side of McFly and we never see McFly from the front of his face). Henrik Drescher also does a great job at making McFig’s and McFly’s cottages look more surreal and rickety as the two men started adding more and more junk on top of their houses during their competition. Henrik Drescher writes this story in a surreal yet simple way as he goes into great detail at how the two men started putting more and more stuff on top of their cottages to be better than the other. Also, he describes how the two men failed to pay attention to their children’s blossoming romance and how their children wanted peace between the two men as they realized that this competition has gotten out of hand.

Parents should know that there is a death scene in this book regarding one of the characters. I will not tell you who dies since that may spoil the book for you, but parents might want to discuss the issues of death with their children first before they read this book so that they will not become too upset at the death scene in this book.

“McFig and McFly” is a wonderful book about the consequences of being over competitive with other people. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since smaller children may be a bit upset with the death theme of the book.

Taken from my Book Blog:  Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] McFig and McFly: A Tale of Jealousy, Revenge and Death by Henrik Drescher 

 I actually first saw Simon’s Book when I was watching Reading Rainbow, a show that used to come on PBS when I was little. When I started watching Simon’s Book, I was intrigued by the creative drawings of Simon and the monster that this book became my all-time favorite children’s book from the creative mind of Henrik Drescher.

Henrik Drescher’s master storytelling and his wild drawings make this book extremely appealing to everyone of all ages. He vividly draws the monster as a scary figure that at first threatens the main characters by chasing them all throughout the book and then draws the monster as a cuddly figure that brings Simon, the pens, and the ink jar safely back home. Simon himself is depicted as an innocent wild haired boy who only wants to get out of the predicament that he has been put into so carelessly and the ink pens are drawn like they are playful looking snakes who want to help Simon get out of his predicament. Henrik Drescher’s creative drawings mixed with his simplistic yet intriguing narrating makes Simon’s book both intense and comforting at the same time.

Parents should know that the beast in this book looks extremely scary, probably scarier than any other monster you would see in many children’s books. The beast looks like a warthog-monster with the pig-like snout and the bristles on its back are truly terrifying as they are black and extremely pointed. If you look on the cover of the book, you probably know what this beast truly looks like. But, the monster also comes off as being a friendly creature in the end of the book so many children do not have to worry about the monster eating Simon.

Simon’s Book is one book that is to be treasured by every one of all ages. Henrik Drescher has mastered creativity beyond his ability to draw by creating intense scenes that keeps you wondering until the very end about whether or not the beast is going to eat Simon and then mellows down to a happier tone when the audience finds out that the beast is actually a friendly monster. This book is also great for children who are beginning to read since the format of this book is written in a kindergarten fashion as there are only a few words on each page and is great in reading new vocabulary, such as the book using the words “comfort” and “retreated.” Simon’s Book is a wonderful book for anyone who loves adventure and the power of friendship overcoming any obstacle in life.

Taken from my Book Blog:  Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] Simon's Book by Henrik Drescher 

 “Paul and Judy were naughty children who teased their poor pet Beastie to no end. Then Beastie decides to eat them!”

If you had read the first book “Pat the Beastie,” then you would know what had happened to Paul and Judy in that book! “Love the Beastie” is the sequel to Henrik Drescher’s classic children’s book “Pat the Beastie” and this time, Paul and Judy have learned their lesson and are now good friends with their pet Beastie! “Love the Beastie” may have some slight gross moments that might make some children feel queasy, but it is truly a wonderful book to read to small children!

The book picks up from where Beastie eats Paul and Judy and afterwards, Beastie decides to spit the children out of his belly after it sees that Paul and Judy promised to be good from now on. Now Paul, Judy and Beastie are the best of friends and they do fun things together like spin each other on the carousel, playing hide-and-seek and brushing Beastie’s gunky teeth!

When I first read Henrik Drescher’s “Pat the Beastie,” I never would have thought that there would be a sequel to that classic book! I really enjoyed the ending of the first book (though it is creepy and twisted) and it was one of the few times that a children’s book could go to such high levels of gross humor. However, the sequel “Love the Beastie” is the complete opposite of the first book, but just as memorable. Henrik Drescher has done an excellent job at both writing and illustrating this slightly gross yet sweet natured tale about two children redeeming themselves after they tortured their pet Beastie and becoming fast friends with their Beastie. I loved how Henrik Drescher gave the tone of this book a sweeter note since the first book was more malicious as the kids tortured the Beastie while in this book; the kids are friendly towards the Beastie. I like the way that while this book was less malicious than the first book, the tone of this book still remained consistent with the first book as gross humor is the main priority in both books and this book does have some gross moments such as Paul and Judy brushing Beastie’s dirty teeth and the characters passing gas in bed. But probably my most favorite part of this book was:

THE ILLUSTRATIONS!

I am a huge fan of Henrik Drescher’s illustrations and his illustrations definitely do not disappoint me here! Henrik Drescher’s illustrations are wonderfully surreal and hilarious to look at and I loved the illustrations of the Beastie as it is green, large and hairy and instead of seeing images of the Beastie being tortured, we see images of the Beastie playing with Paul and Judy happily and it was interesting seeing the smile on the Beastie’s face. Probably my favorite images were of the beginning pages where we see what last happened in the first book with Beastie eating the kids and letting them out. I also loved the little pop ups in this book especially the one where children can pull on the Beastie’s tongue to let Paul and Judy out of Beastie’s stomach.

The only problem with this book is that there are some gross moments in this book such as Paul and Judy brushing the Beastie’s messy teeth and the beginning of the book where Paul and Judy get out of Beastie’s stomach by sliding on its tongue. However, since the gross moments in this book are only slightly gross, small children might not have a problem with the gross scenes in this book.

Overall, “Love the Beastie” is easily one of the best sequels I have ever read from Henrik Drescher’s work and this will definitely be a great classic for fans of the original book,“Pat the Beastie” for many years! I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is not much gross humor that might disgust smaller children.

Taken from my Book Blog:  Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] Love the Beastie by Henrik Drescher 

 They are zany! They are clumsy! They are hilarious! They are the Klutz family coming your way! “Klutz” is a children’s book by Henrik Drescher and it is about how a clumsy family finally found their calling in life when they meet up with the circus. “Klutz” is easily one hilarious book that you cannot pass up!

Louise was always a klutz since her family was klutzes since the dawn of time. Every day, the Klutz family would trip over themselves; even in their own house and everyone they passed by would call them “Lumpish Yokels.” One night however, the Klutz family met up with Professor Squirmworm’s Magic Circus Caravan (after they literally crashed into it) and Professor Squirmworm decided to make them into clowns!

Never have I read a children’s book that featured such a unique family as the Klutz family! Henrik Drescher has done an excellent job at writing and illustrating this book as the story is presented in a comical and creative way. I loved the way that Henrik Drescher focuses on the faults of the Klutz family, which is their clumsiness and turns it into something alluring for the audience as the Klutz family still remain happy, no matter what everyone else thinks of them, which help teach children about the importance of being yourself no matter what kind of flaws you have. Henrik Drescher’s illustrations are truly creative in this book as the Klutz family has long rubbery limbs and large black boots that help them stay unhurt during their clumsy romping. I also loved the way that Henrik Drescher pasted black and white photos of realistic people onto his own surreal drawings giving the book a creative flair.

The only problem that some people might have with this book is that the images are little bit too surreal for some people to handle. The Klutz family and practically every character in this book have sharp looking teeth and crazy looking eyes that might scare smaller children, so parents might want to read this book first to see if their children will handle it.

Overall, “Klutz” is a truly hilarious book for both adults and children who want to learn the importance of family and having some good old fun! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the images might be too surreal for smaller children to handle.

Taken from my Book Blog:  Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] Klutz by Henrik Drescher 

 Alright, you have read “Alice in Wonderland” and “Coraline” before and both stories involve a character going to a strange world that is different from their own world. Well, if you had read any of Henrik Drescher’s books, then you already think that his illustrations are out of this world! “Look-alikes” is a children’s book by Henrik Drescher that literally takes two characters out into another world as Rudy and his pet monkey Buster go into a world called “Look-alikes!” “Look-alikes” is a great book that children will read over and over again!

Wow, what a strange and unusual book I have just read and I thought that Simon's Book was surreal! That is just what I love about Henrik Drescher’s work and I just really love this little gem of a book! Henrik Drescher done an excellent job at both writing and illustrating this book about imaginative adventures and I loved the way that this book was written in a simplistic yet creative manner since the writing mainly contained exclamations from Rudy and Buster such as “Help!” and “Yikes!” and I loved how the story started off as a normal narrative when we are introduced to the Pearson family and how the writing becomes somewhat disconnected when Rudy and Buster’s look-alikes come into their crazy world. Henrik Drescher also did an excellent job at illustrating this book, which I am just so into his surreal illustrations, and I loved the way that Buster and Rudy both have similar red and white striped glasses even though Rudy is a human boy and Buster is a brown monkey and it just made them look like a pair of friends that are inseparable. But my most favorite part of the illustrations were the images of the strange creatures that Rudy and Buster’s look-alike encounter when they enter the strange world within the clubhouse and some of the creatures that stayed with me for a long time when I read this book was one creature that has two faces and has fountain pens for feet and another creature that was half goldfish and half ostrich when Rudy and Buster’s look-alikes were trending through the water. I also loved the way that Henrik Drescher made Rudy and Buster’s actual world so calm and beautiful looking while in the world of the look-alikes, the world is chaotic and wild.

The only problem with this book is that the plot might be a bit confusing to younger children there is not really a particular plot to the story as it is mainly about two toys’ adventures in a secret clubhouse. Also, younger children might not understand about the whole story within a story scenario that this story has as there is an outside story which features Rudy and Buster enjoying their family time in the real world and an inside story where Rudy and Buster’s look-alike toys enter another world and have wild adventures there. Parents might want to explain to their children that the book was trying to promote the benefits of imagination within children and how it is wonderful to be creative with your imaginations.

Overall, “Look-alikes” is a truly memorable book for children who love surreal worlds and surreal characters and just love using their imaginations to create the worlds they want to be in! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the plot might be a bit confusing for smaller children and some of the images might either scare or interest your child, depending on what your child enjoys reading.

Taken from my Book Blog:  Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] Look-Alikes by Henrik Drescher 

 When I first read this book, I was just blown away by the surrealistic images in this book! “No Plain Pets!” is a children’s book by Marc Ian Barasch along with surreal illustrations by Henrik Drescher and it is about how a young nameless boy tells his mother that he wants an unusual pet, in other words, “NO PLAIN PETS!” “No Plain Pets!” might be a bit too surreal for some children to handle, but it is a brilliant book that everyone should read!

One night, a young boy tells his mother that he wants a pet and while his mother agrees with him, he goes on to explain to his mother that he wants an unusual pet, not just a plain pet. For instance, the boy wants a big black gorilla that seems to eat buildings and then he goes on to saying that he wants a flying fish and then he wants a camel to ride on. Will the boy find his perfect pet? Read this book to find out!

I was just so blown away by this book beyond all reason! I never would have imagined seeing a more surreal look at a child’s desires at having an unusual pet in this format! Marc Ian Barasch has certainly done an excellent job at writing this book as his poetic writing is silly and creative as the boy imagines that his pets could do surreal things such as having his bullfrog jump through a ring of fire or having a fish that flies through the air. Also, I loved the way that Marc Ian Barasch makes the story in rhyming proses as it reminds me of a somewhat wild version of Dr. Seuss’ works. Henrik Drescher’s illustrations are at their best here as each character looks surreal such as the young boy being dressed in purple overalls with wild and many creatures popping out of other creatures’ mouths (weird is it not?), which is Henrik Drescher’s signature characters. I also loved the constant smiles that the boy displays on each page as he shows his enthusiasm at being with every different pet he conjures up.

For parents and children who do not like surreal images, this book is full of surreal images. Some of the images in this book that might cause a bit of concern for small children might be the image of the boy lying on the tongue of a huge lizard as the boy is seen inside the mouth of a huge lizard and the image of the imaginary creature having six feet sticking out of its head. I think the right word for these types of images might be “morbid,” but this book is told in a hilarious way that maybe some small children might still enjoy this book for its wackiness.

All in all, “No Plain Pets!” is one truly unique and creative book that both children and adults who love reading about pets can easily enjoy for many years! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since some of the images in this book might scare younger children.
 
Taken from my Book Blog:  Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] No Plain Pets! by Marc Ian Barasch 

 “Pat the Beastie” is a hilarious and revolting story from the creative mind of Henrik Drescher about the consequences of mistreating pets. “Pat the Beastie” may be a bit too gross and disturbing for smaller children, but older children will definitely be delighted with this book.

Henrik Drescher’s parody of Dorothy Kunhardt’s popular book “Pat the Bunny” is incredibly hilarious and disgusting for many children. Henrik Drescher goes into great detail about how the kids torture their pet beastie, Pat such as jiggling at Pat’s eyes and pull Pat’s fur. Henrik Drescher’s illustrations are highly creative and creepy at the same time, especially of the illustrations of Pat the Beastie as Pat is illustrated as a very hairy and wrinkled green dragon and the expressions on Pat’s face are priceless as the readers can see the pain that Pat goes through as Paul and Judy torture Pat relentlessly.

Parents should know that smaller kids might not handle the gross humor and the disturbing ending. I will not tell you what happened at the end of the book since I do not want to spoil the book for you, but the ending will definitely creep out kids who are scared of monsters. Also, kids might want to watch out for the gross humor displayed in this book such as the kids jiggling Pat the Beastie’s eyes and pulling at Pat’s worm boogers. Parents might want to read this book first and decide if their children love gross humor and can handle disturbing endings.

“Pat the Beastie” is probably Henrik Drescher’s grossest yet most creative book since it is Henrik Drescher’s first pop up book. This book is definitely a great treat for children who love pop up books and gross humor. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up even though the book suggests that the age group be ages three and up. Yet, there is gross humor and a disturbing ending that might not be appropriate for young children.

Taken from my Book Blog:  Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] Pat the Beastie by Henrik Drescher 

 “The Gruesome Guide to World Monsters” is an excellent book about monsters that is presented in a travel guide format. Judy Sierra and Henrik Drescher both work together on this project and therefore, created a book that is a combination of horror and comedy.

“The Gruesome Guide to World Monsters” details various encounters of some of the most dangerous and gruesome monsters around the world. The book describes the monsters’ habits, where they live, survival tips when encountering them, and how dangerous they are to the traveler. There are sixty-three monsters mentioned in this book and only one monster in this book is known to be just frightening, not dangerous. These are the summaries of some of my favorite monsters:

ROLLING HEAD

The Rolling Head’s gruesomeness rating is five skulls, which means that it is a fatal monster. It lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and this monster came about when a man accidentally cut his finger with a knife. When the man licked the blood off his finger, he enjoyed the taste of blood so much that he started eating his entire body, leaving only his head. The head now rolls around and eats unsuspecting people in his path. The survival tip is not available for this monster.

SIGBIN

The Sigbin’s gruesomeness rating is three skulls, which means that it is a very dangerous monster. It lives in the Philippines and it looks like a beagle, but its hind legs is higher then the front part of its body. The Sigbin can fly using its long ears, but watch out for its intestinal gas, for it is very fatal and will kill anyone who stands downwind of the Sigbin. The survival tip is to not stand downwind of a Sigbin and that if a person learns the right magic spells then he or she can fly a Sigbin.

Judy Sierra’s masterful storytelling of describing various monsters around the world is both excellent and morbid at the same time. Sierra goes into great detail about each monster and also gives a clear survival tip to each monster whenever one encounters them. Henrik Drescher’s illustrations are equally special in this book as he draws each monster in a childish yet nightmarish way. It was as if the illustrations came out of someone’s nightmare and they are trying to describe the nightmare by drawing out the images portrayed in the nightmare.

Parents should know that this book may be too disturbing for younger children because of its horror content. Most of the monsters in this book eat humans or make them go insane and that may scare younger children. The monster that will probably scare younger children the most would be the Curupira, since this monster sucks out people’s organs for disobeying a rule and that would lead children into thinking that someone will kill them if they break the rules.

“The Gruesome Guide to World Monsters” is an excellent travel brochure-like book for people who want to learn more about the monsters around the world and how to survive their encounters. This book is a true treat for both kids and adults, but adults may want to steer their younger children away from this book if they are afraid of monsters.

Taken from my Book Blog:  Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] Gruesome Guide to World Monsters by Judy Sierra