This nonfiction picture book chronicles the events surrounding a fake 1930s news story about a sea monster on Nantucket Island.In 1937, Nantucket's Inquirer and Mirror newspaper printed an interview with a man who said he saw a strange ocean creature. More eyewitnesses came forward; gigantic footprints appeared in the sand, and people contacted scientists. A rumor flew that the creature was caught, which turned out to be untrue. Around the country, frightened people read about the Nantucket Sea Monster before the truth was revealed: The "monster" was a 135-foot balloon created for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Everything from the eyewitness statements to the footprints was part of a publicity stunt orchestrated by puppeteer Tony Sarg, and the Inquirer and Mirror admitted to collaboration. Pattison (Road Whiz, 2018, etc.) sticks to the facts, with exact dates of events and dialogue taken directly from actual newspaper articles. However, the wry, playful delivery ("The story was gaining credibility. After all, the newspaper printed the stories, so it had to be true") keeps things entertaining, brilliantly inviting discussion about hoaxes while remaining kid-appropriate. Back matter includes a glossary and a history of freedom of the press and fake news. Willis' (Clang!, 2018, etc.) paint-and-mixed-media collage pieces complement the story wonderfully.A thought-provoking story with timely resonance.

Gr 2-4The creators of Burn: Michael Faraday's Candle are back with an exploration of a 1937 hoax in Nantucket involving a sea monstershaped Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon. The hoax was orchestrated by Tony Sarg, famed creator of the parade balloons, along with the Nantucket Publicity Committee and various media outlets. The text includes quotes taken from newspaper articles from Nantucket's The Mirror and Inquirer. Pattison's narrative zips along with brief descriptions of the reported sightings. The content is age-appropriate and does not assume a prior knowledge of how news is reported, but some of the vocabulary includes terms such as credibility. Willis's colorful renderings use a variety of media and help to draw readers into the story. There are several different fonts and font sizes used but all are large enough to be easily read by the audience. Illustrations generally cover both pages of a spread, leaving very little white space; however, the backgrounds are generally light. In cases where the background is darker, the text is white. Back matter includes a brief discussion of the role of a free press. VERDICT This title discusses the issue of fake news in an age-appropriate way while avoiding politics; most useful in a classroom setting, perhaps in conjunction with Melissa Sweet's Balloons Over Broadway.Judy Poyer, Anne Arundel County Public Library, MD