The Almost Fearless Hamilton Squidlegger

Reviewed by: Martha Van Wyck - Burbank Branch/Portland Public Library, Portland, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: June 11, 2014

Review

In this tale, Hamilton Squidlegger battles imaginary monsters fearlessly during the day but come bedtime, those same monsters are much too scary for him and he rushes to the safety of his parents' bed. Desperate for uninterrupted sleep, his father tells him that monsters are silly and love to play, that he shouldn't fear them but rather have fun with them. The illustrations are hilariously untypical of the usual picture book, almost offputtingly strange but managing to stay on the funny, charming side of weird. Double-decker grasshopper worm cake with snake-belly frosting figures in the plot as do frackensnappers, skelecragons and cracklesneeds. It's all a bit odd, a tad unusual, but nevertheless, a very funny, completely enjoyable story of a child learning to overcome his fears with the help of his loving, protective father.

Overall Book Score: excellent