The Fearsome Beastie by Giles Paley-Phillips - Revision history

Kieran at 15:29, 10 April 2018

2018-04-10T15:29:59Z

Sue at 10:18, 26 December 2014

2014-12-26T10:18:19Z

Sue at 16:12, 21 March 2013

2013-03-21T16:12:59Z

Keith: Created page with ' {{infobox |title=The Fearsome Beastie |sort=Fearsome Beastie |author=Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini |reviewer=Keith Dudhnath |genre=For Sharing |rating=3 |buy=Maybe …'

2011-06-08T10:30:42Z

Created page with ' {{infobox |title=The Fearsome Beastie |sort=Fearsome Beastie |author=Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini |reviewer=Keith Dudhnath |genre=For Sharing |rating=3 |buy=Maybe …'

New review

{{infobox
|title=The Fearsome Beastie
|sort=Fearsome Beastie
|author=Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=For Sharing
|rating=3
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1848860667
|paperback=1848860668
|hardback=
|audiobook=
|ebook=
|pages=32
|publisher=Maverick Arts Publishing
|date=May 2011
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848860668</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1848860668</amazonus>
|website=http://www.gilespaleyphillips.co.uk/
|video=
|summary=''The Fearsome Beastie'' isn't a must-read, but it has plenty of strong points to counterbalance minor gripes. The undeniable fact is that young children will enjoy it as an appropriately-toned monster tale.
}}

When night comes, the fearsome beastie roams the streets, looking for children to eat. He's quite the monster and gobbles up some little 'uns, but doesn't notice little Pete, who enlists some help to do battle with the beastie.

''The Fearsome Beastie'' is a fun picture book. It brings to mind fairy tales and other familiar stories, where monsters are after children. Plot-wise, there's not too much we haven't seen before - you can pretty much guess what happens. However, interest levels are maintained throughout, and the young audience will enjoy the adventure.

The writing is clear and direct, with appropriate vocabulary for those either side of being able to read for themselves. The rhythm of the couplets is strong throughout, allowing a skilled adult reader to really sell the drama of the story. However, the rhymes rarely excited me: they tend to be the most obvious choices. The writing isn't bad, but it doesn't leap off the page. The line about Pete's gran chopping wood to relax tickled me; some more playful concepts like this would have improved matters

There are a few minor proofing errors. They're not of a severity that I'd comment on in a book for older children. However, ''The Fearsome Beastie'' is pitched firmly at those who are just getting to grips with reading, so accuracy is of greater importance. It shouldn't put anyone off checking it out, but it bears noting.

Gabriele Antonini's illustrations are slick and engaging. They're bold and cartoony, with plenty of interest and expression on each page. Children will recognise that the beastie is a scary monster, but won't feel unduly scared of it themselves. The most striking image is the beastie getting chopped in two with an axe, Red Riding Hood stylee. It's dramatic, and describing it makes it sound wholly inappropriate, but even the youngest children will be amused by it, as they would by Tom and Jerry.

''The Fearsome Beastie'' isn't a must-read, but it has plenty of strong points to counterbalance minor gripes. The undeniable fact is that young children will enjoy it as an appropriately-toned monster tale.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

For other monster stories, take a look at [[Mr Chicken Goes To Paris by Leigh Hobbs]], [[Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen]], and [[Tappity-Tap! What Was That? by Claire Freedman and Russell Julian]].

{{amazontext|amazon=1848860668}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=8280780}}

{{commenthead}}

[[Category:Giles Paley-Phillips]]
[[Category:Gabriele Antonini]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{infobox
+{{infobox2
 |title=The Fearsome Beastie
 |sort=Fearsome Beastie
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |publisher=Maverick Arts Publishing
 |date=May 2011
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848860668</amazonuk>
+|aznuk=1848860668
-|amazonus=<amazonus>1848860668</amazonus>
+|aznus=1848860668
 |website=http://www.gilespaleyphillips.co.uk/
 |video=

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{infobox
 |title=The Fearsome Beastie
@@ Line 29: / Line 28: @@
 Have a look at [[Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball by Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini|Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball]] by the same author and illustrator.  Tamara wears glasses too.
-{{amazontext|amazon=1848860668}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=8280780}}
+{{amazontext|amazon=1848860668}}
 {{commenthead}}

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 |sort=Fearsome Beastie
 |author=Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini
-|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
+|reviewer=Sue Magee
 |genre=For Sharing
-|rating=3
+|rating=4
-|buy=Maybe
+|buy=Yes
 |borrow=Yes
 |isbn=978-1848860667
 |pages=32
 |publisher=Maverick Arts Publishing
@@ Line 21: / Line 17: @@
 |website=http://www.gilespaleyphillips.co.uk/
 |video=
-|summary=''The Fearsome Beastie'' isn't a must-read, but it has plenty of strong points to counterbalance minor gripes. The undeniable fact is that young children will enjoy it as an appropriately-toned monster tale.
+|summary=An engaging monster-eats-the-children tale with a happy resolution, but it's probably best thought of as a daytime - rather than bedtime - book.
 }}
-When night comes, the fearsome beastie roams the streets, looking for children to eat. He's quite the monster and gobbles up some little 'uns, but doesn't notice little Pete, who enlists some help to do battle with the beastie.
+There's going to be a frisson of fear from young readers and the most sensitive might be shocked at what the axe-wielding Gran does to the monster, although it is remarkably clean and free from gore.  Most children are going to love the opportunity to join in with the story - there are some wonderful opportunities for making scary noises and acting out the parts.  There’s a happy conclusion to the story (the story is slightly dark, but not ''that'' dark) but it's a story for the daylight hours rather than bedtime.
-''The Fearsome Beastie'' is a fun picture book. It brings to mind fairy tales and other familiar stories, where monsters are after children. Plot-wise, there's not too much we haven't seen before - you can pretty much guess what happens. However, interest levels are maintained throughout, and the young audience will enjoy the adventure.
+I liked Gabriele Antonini's illustrations.  They're bright, engaging and really add to the story.  There’s a real talent for capturing the children’s expressions and plenty of opportunity for discussing what the children are going through.  I like too that one of the children wears glasses - it's not unusual for children to need to wear glasses and they should feel included in stories.  Too often glasses are used to imply that there's an element of geekiness or something out of the ordinary.
-The writing is clear and direct, with appropriate vocabulary for those either side of being able to read for themselves. The rhythm of the couplets is strong throughout, allowing a skilled adult reader to really sell the drama of the story. However, the rhymes rarely excited me: they tend to be the most obvious choices. The writing isn't bad, but it doesn't leap off the page. The line about Pete's gran chopping wood to relax tickled me; some more playful concepts like this would have improved matters
+I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
-There are a few minor proofing errors. They're not of a severity that I'd comment on in a book for older children. However, ''The Fearsome Beastie'' is pitched firmly at those who are just getting to grips with reading, so accuracy is of greater importance. It shouldn't put anyone off checking it out, but it bears noting.
+Have a look at [[Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball by Giles Paley-Phillips and Gabriele Antonini|Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball]] by the same author and illustrator.  Tamara wears glasses too.
 {{amazontext|amazon=1848860668}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=8280780}}