Ed Emberley's bye-bye, big bad bullybug!
(Book)

Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! by Ed Emberley finds a group of "itty-bitty baby bugs" facing off against Bullybug, who grows bigger and scarier with every flip of the die-cut pages until he becomes an enormous monster with "nasty pinchers," "scratchy claws," "a big purple belly"-and an appetite. Luckily for the little insects (which resemble fireflies) they have an even bigger friend who comes to their rescue: a giant shoe. (LB Kids, $10.99 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 9780-316-01762-6; Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

PreS-Gr 2-As in his Go Away, Big Green Monster! (Little, Brown, 2005), Emberley gradually assembles, via die cuts, a mean and scary "Big Bad Bullybug" from outer space who threatens to bite, pinch, and tickle itty-bitty baby bugs. Luckily for the small fliers, a human with a huge sneaker is willing to do away with the pink-polka-dotted meanie. The cobalt blue backgrounds create a grand contrast for the electric greens, oranges, and yellows that dominate the bug parts. Despite the visual panache of the giant foot, it seems a shame that the bullybug couldn't learn a lesson instead of being "skwooshed!"-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In a return to the concept that produced the brilliant Go Away Big Green Monster (1993), Emberley offers a new character to stand up to. Once again, a series of die-cut pages are the main feature (even the cover cuts away to reveal the title). Lightning bugs fearfully herald the arrival of the menacing monster in a round spaceship in the dark of night. The background of all the book's pages are a deep blue, and the minimal figures are in simple shapes, mostly circles and half-circles. As anticipation grows, die-cut pages reveal more and more of the beast, who declares his menacing intentions in bold orange text: "I have two nasty pinchers for pinching itty-bitty baby bugs," etc. But here it is not the lightning bugs who save themselves, but a big powder-blue sneaker, spanning two pages whose page-turn does to the bullybug what most sneakers do: "SKWOOSH!" The building of suspense should appeal to very young listeners, who also might be attracted to the accessibility of the minimal text and who will welcome a new Monster to the neighborhood. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! by Ed Emberley finds a group of "itty-bitty baby bugs" facing off against Bullybug, who grows bigger and scarier with every flip of the die-cut pages until he becomes an enormous monster with "nasty pinchers," "scratchy claws," "a big purple belly"-and an appetite. Luckily for the little insects (which resemble fireflies) they have an even bigger friend who comes to their rescue: a giant shoe. (LB Kids, $10.99 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 9780-316-01762-6; Aug.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

PreS-Gr 2— As in his Go Away, Big Green Monster! (Little, Brown, 2005), Emberley gradually assembles, via die cuts, a mean and scary "Big Bad Bullybug" from outer space who threatens to bite, pinch, and tickle itty-bitty baby bugs. Luckily for the small fliers, a human with a huge sneaker is willing to do away with the pink-polka-dotted meanie. The cobalt blue backgrounds create a grand contrast for the electric greens, oranges, and yellows that dominate the bug parts. Despite the visual panache of the giant foot, it seems a shame that the bullybug couldn't learn a lesson instead of being "skwooshed!"—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA