The Lost Boy and the Monster (Picture Books) - Hardcover

Strete, Craig Kee

4.15

13 ratings by Goodreads

9780399229220: The Lost Boy and the Monster (Picture Books)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399229221 ISBN 13: 9780399229220

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 1999

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When a little boy is ensnared in the forest by an ancient monster, Old Foot-Eater, he is able to call upon his past kindness to both a scorpion and a rattlesnake for their aid in his rescue.

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-3-Strete crafts a tale wherein good defeats evil not through the hero's cleverness but because of his respect for nature. A lost boy who lives alone in the forest is saved from a horrible monster, Foot Eater, by a rattlesnake and a scorpion. The nameless waif's "favor" to these normally persecuted creatures had been in refraining from beating them, a gesture that earned their loyalty. Johnson and Fancher's oil paintings, bordered by strips of stylized petroglyphs, effectively convey the limited action of the text but the earth tones often blend together, making it hard to tell what's going on in the two-page spreads. The boy's face is cherubic and his eyes seem vacant, visually complementing the platitudes he utters; the skeletal monster is sufficiently jagged. It's nice that these desert creatures feel compelled to come to the boy's rescue but one can't help wondering why they didn't just warn their new spiritual brother about Foot Eater's trap in the first place. This superficial tale of harmony is an object lesson that borders on the preachy but the stony monster should give youngsters a delightful chill or two.
John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Strete's (They Thought They Saw Him) unremarkable tale with dramatic artwork introduces Old Foot Eater, a monster whose diet consists of "little children's feet." The beast hangs a sticky rope from a tree to ensnare the feet of unsuspecting young passersby. Wandering near the monster's tree one day, a lost boy "who had no name" encounters a rattlesnake and a scorpion. Both are amazed that the child does not harm them ("Aren't you going to beat me with a stick?" each asks the boy) and each in turn thanks the boy "for letting me be me." The creatures repay the boy's kindness when his feet get caught up in the monster's rope, and they help to set him free. Johnson and Fancher (My Many Colored Days; The Frog Prince, Continued) use mixed media to create paintings that seem at once sophisticated and primitive. Featuring a palette of tawny earth tones, the artists incorporate a top border filled with symbols from cave paintings and Southwestern petroglyphs. A particularly theatrical spread shows the boy dangling upside-down against a backdrop of the monster's face. As accomplished as the artwork is, however, it cannot carry the thin story line. Ages 4-8. (May)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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