Picture Book Land is highly populated with animals. Specifically farm animals, jungle animals, bears, and house pets. Every once in awhile we are treated to a story about a wholly unexpected animal, like an axolotl, as in the case of "Spike, the Mixed-up Monster" by Susan Hood.
Spike is axolotl, a salamander who lives in Mexico. Because of his sharp teeth and spikes, he believes himself to be a scary monster. Unfortunately, his friends el gato, el armadillo, and el campanol only find him adorable. Along comes a real monster, a gila monster. All of Spike's friends are frightened away, but Spike stands his ground to scare off the intruder. In the end, Spike learns that you cannot judge a critter by how he looks and decides that smiles are better than scares.
With a cute story and cheerful pencil and water color illustrations, "Spike" is a great picture book. But the real treat to me is the exotic Mexican cast and the handful of Spanish vocabulary words sprinkled throughout the text. So if you're tired of the normal cast of cows, bears, and dogs, click on the link above to reserve a copy today! Great for pre-K to first grade.
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