Cackle Cook's Monster Stew (Family Storytime) - Hardcover

K-Gr 2-A famous witch chef enlists her assistant to fetch an alphabetical list of ingredients for her famous stew. Igor grumbles in rhyme to her polite requests, which range from ape hair to a dusty clump from a zombie's back. Although Wolff's ending is predictable, her cooking components are creative. Imagine the flavor of ogre shoe leather and jellyfish jelly. Schindler's gouache-and-watercolor cartoon scenes of the grocery shelves and checkout counter are marvelously arrayed with appropriately nauseating stock. A yak's hump crossing the cashier's scanner is funny, but bins of "furry odds and ends" and iguana toes are not for the squeamish, despite the lack of gore. An obvious selection for Halloween, this title would also serve well for a cooking unit or lessons in following instructions or teamwork.

Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

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