Beware! This book is definitely cursed…with giggles.Clustercrump McTootyboots, an adorable creature with long golden hair, bold green eyes, and a striped blue-green jumpsuit, is the cursed narrator of this cursed book. But if Clustercrump can trick enough people into reading the book, readers will be cursed and Clustercrump will be set free at last. Clustercrump informs readers, "If you have any of the following symptoms, it means the curse is already working: The wiggles. The giggles. Trouble licking your elbow. A heartbeat." Uh-oh…could the curse be working already? And what does the curse entail? For starters, it makes everything taste like cabbage, and it makes nose hair grow long and fast. Worst of all, readers will forget their names and begin calling themselves "Clustercrump McTootyboots." Luckily, the curse can be reversed, and Clustercrump helpfully provides absurd, impossible, and giggle-worthy step-by-step instructions that must be followed to the letter. But even if readers don't manage to reverse the curse, the bright side is that they'll have a lifetime supply of nose hair that looks like noodles and tastes like-you guessed it, cabbage. Rodil's illustrations feature splashes of bold contrasting colors and varied and even bolder font choices that heighten the drama and humor of this story.Goofy, gross, and just plain giggle-worthy. (Picture book. 4-8)

PreS-Gr 2— Similar to Don't Push the Button , this book teases kids who may not yet fully understand the concept of sarcasm and prompts them into turning page after page. A monster named Clustercrump McTootyboots curses readers upon opening the book. The curse involves readers growing really long nose hair and experiencing everything tasting like cabbage. To break the curse, they need to, oh, say silly rhymes, and—in a cynical bit of self-aggrandizement—get someone else to read this book, in effect causing a chain of events similar to the one in the adult horror classic The Ring . The monster has a pleasing yellow and teal palette, and there is a good amount of juvenile cleverness to the text, but overall it brings nothing new to this particular genre of interactive book. VERDICT Recommended where similar books in the collection are falling apart from use.— Chance Lee Joyner