Caldecott medalist Ed Emberley has designed an ingenious book to help children overcome their fear of monsters. With each turn of the page, a new part is revealed, until all of a big, green monster has taken shape. Then, with the words, "You don't scare me!, " page by page, the monster slowly disappears. Full color. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

The Caldecott Medalist makes wonderful use of innovative production techniques in this ingenious offering. Differently diecut and boldly colored pages reveal increasingly scary features of a big green monster--on the first spread, we see two big yellow eyes; on the second, the eyes plus a long blue nose; and so on, until the monster is fully unmasked. But that's only half the story. ``You don't scare me!'' reads the caption after the monster is shown in all its horror. Turn more pages and, one by one, the scary features disappear, as does, of course, the monster. ``And don't come back! Until I say so,'' the text concludes. A joy to read aloud, the simple story entertains even as it helps its audience master common fears. Emberley's striking approach should win him new fans aplenty. Ages 3-8. Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

PreS-- A graphic delight. In the tradition of Lois Ehlert's Color Zoo (1989) and Color Farm (1990, both HarperCollins), this is a clever series of die-cut pages that lets children construct and then deconstruct a big green monster. The book starts with a black page, and two round eyes gleaming through the text. ``Big Green Monster has two big yellow eyes.'' Each page adds a new adjective-laden element, including a ``long bluish-greenish nose'' and ``scraggy purple hair'' until the culmination of effects prompts a response of, ``YOU DON'T SCARE ME! SO GO AWAY . . . .'' Each subsequent page subtracts one of the scary pieces until the last page is entirely black, featuring the words, ``and DON'T COME BACK! Until I say so.'' This imaginative original work is a most friendly way in which children can take control over their own ``monsters'' or nightmares. It also has great visual appeal because of the bold interplay between shape and color. --Elizabeth Hanson, Chicago Public LibraryCopyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

/*STARRED REVIEW*/ Ages 2-6. For a younger audience than Bradbury's Switch on the Night (also reviewed in this issue), this striking picture book takes a hands-on approach to dealing with nighttime fears. In fact, it may be hard for parents to pry their kids' hands off the book and get them to bed. Using die-cut, black pages, the book begins with the monster's "two big yellow eyes" glowing through round holes. Each flip of a page displays more features shining in electric colors through new holes--"a long blue nose / a big red mouth with sharp white teeth / two little squiggly ears . . . ," and so on--until the narrator announces, "You don't scare me! So GO AWAY scraggly purple hair . . . ," and dismisses the monster page by page, feature by feature, like the departing Cheshire Cat. In the last half of the book, the monster appears on pages in the same vibrant colors that showed through the cuts in the black pages. Graphically playful and exciting, this picture book promises to jazz up any story time and to give individual children a measure of control over at least one monster. (Reviewed Apr. 15, 1993)0316236535Carolyn Phelan From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.