Reviews
OWTK (www .owt k.com)
Kid’s Music, Book, Toy & DVD Reviews (Jan 08, 2008)
REVIEW: The Lonely Little Monster
OWTK is proud and extremely excited to introduce
you to The WorryWoo Monsters—a stunningly
beautiful new series of children’s books (and
adorable stuffed animals) that aims to tackle the
emotions we all face (loneliness, insecurity,
confusion, etc).
I say introduce because I don’t believe word has
really spread far (yet) about the WooryWoo
Monster series and/or the first book in it, Nola
The Lonely Little Monster. The goal of this post,
and the few that are too follow, is to change that.
WorryWoo Week is going to look something like
this: today is the OWTK review of The Lonely Little
Monster, a positively gorgeous book, and an
awesome giveaway where you can win your very
own first-edition autographed hardback copy of
The Lonely Little Monster and a big, cuddly Nola
plush doll. In the coming days, OWTK will bring
you a Q&A with WorryWoo creator/author/
illustrator Andi Green. After that, an exclusive
sneak peak at what’s in the WorryWoo pipeline.
The Lonely Little Monster
Nola is, as the title suggests, a lonely little monster
who is desperately in need of a friend or, we are
to imagine, a mere passer-by. She is flat-out
miserable because of her loneliness for the first
portion of the book and eventually cries an ocean
of tears at her misfortune. The reader feels Nola’s
pain and empathizes with her simple wish of
companionship. It’s the pouty way in which Nola
explains her emotions that we understand just
how young of a monster she is. Kids will respond
to her plea and the manner in which she longs for
a playmate. It’s in her bountiful tears, half way
through the book, that she finally gains the
company she desires.
Therein lies a subtle message for kids and adults
alike—never be afraid to be honest about your
feelings even if it means being moved to tears for
it’s inside that display of raw emotion that we can
overcome our fears and longings. That happens
to be exactly what Nola learns when through her
damp eyes she spots tiny critters in the wake of
the sea. Turns out those who we long to be near
often feel the same way about us and are
sometimes right under our noses.
The story is sweet and simple yet at the same time
carries with it a subtle heaviness, after all this is
a powerful emotion being examined here. It’s the
illustrations, however, that set The Lonely Little
Monster apart from virtually every other children’s
book on the market. Andi Green’s watercolors
are without a doubt some of the prettiest artwork
to accompany literature that this writer has ever
seen. It is a true work of art from start to finish.
At first, I did have this complaint about the book:
The reader wants to spend quality time on each
page, to fully appreciate Ms. Green’s depictions of
Nola and her surroundings, but there is an overall
lack of text from page to page. This structure
makes the reader feel as though they must
progress through the book too rapidly. I feel that
maybe there was so much wonderful art ready for
this first book and a strong desire to share that art
with the world that the text was spread out a bit
too thin. But it turns out this isn’t a complaint at all.
The book’s layout is used to encourage, rather
than deter, folks to spend more time on each
page AFTER the initial read. So, we typically flip
through the book twice at each sitting—once to
read/hear the story and again to admire the
artwork and the story that the pictures tell.
Any book lover should rush to pick up The Lonely
Little Monster for themselves and their small
children. I would put the ideal age for this book
at 4-8 but as with many kids books, the real age
range is much wider.
Monsters in My Head, LLC
P.O. Box 273 Jersey City, NJ 07302 • T: 201.792.4599 • F: 866.887.2990
Reviews
OWTK (www .owt k.com)
Kid’s Music, Book, Toy & DVD Reviews (Jan 16, 2008)
REVIEW: The Nose That Didn’t Fit
Almost a year ago OWTK devoted a full week
(named, cleverly enough, WorryWoo Week) to the
WorryWoo Monsters, a new series of independently
published books and original dolls from the creative
mastermind Andi Green. I ended that week with
a teasing sneak peek at Rue and now...
...I’m honored to officially introduce you to him. So
without further delay, here is Rue, the Monster of
Insecurity.
The new book, entitled The Nose That Didn’t Fit, is
30% longer than The Lonely Little Monster,
clocking in at a healthy 88 pages—each filled with
breathtakingly illustrated scenes of lovely sunrises,
flowers and brilliant purple/pink/blue skies.
As much as I love The Lonely Little Monster, this
new book is superior. That comment alone sent
the Bear into a tizzy. Seems she is very protective
of Nola and took my gushing praise of The Nose
That Didn’t Fit as a personal attack on a best
friend. Nola should hold her head up high, The
Lonely Little Monster has stood up over the
course of the past year and is still outstanding in
it’s own right. But Rue’s book is stronger. This is
because Rue’s story is more dynamic, and in the
end, more powerful for all readers—young and old.
In Rue’s tale there are two “co-star” characters
with prominent speaking parts, whereas Nola, do
to the nature of her lonely story, was literally on an
island for 95% of her tale. Rue, in contrast,
interacts with a wizard and a cute large-nosed girl
monster all throughout The Nose That Didn’t Fit.
It’s also pretty funny: there’s an inchworm who
charges $.50 for nose measurements, a
WorryWoo self-help book and a lima bean
rainstorm. The result is a terrifically engaging ode
to insecurity and the overwhelming joy of loving
one’s self (warts, or big-snout, and all!)
The Bear has now taken Nola, Rue and both of their
books into school for show-n-tell and both the
teachers and her classmates fawned over the
stories and the cuddly, unique dolls. One teacher
remarked she was secretly hoping someone would
buy her some WorryWoo stuff as a Christmas
present, after she perused the WorryWoo website
earlier last month. The impressive emotional
power of the Woos will captivate children and is
certainly not lost on adults.
The WorryWoo Series comes with my highest
possible recommendation. The Nose That Didn’t
Fit and the rest of the WorryWoos would make a
fantastically original kid’s birthday party gift. While
only the first two books have been released thus
far, a total of 4 WorryWoo stuffed dolls can be
purchased (and the other two are equally as
charming) right now.
Up scale Baby Blog
Reviews of Stylish Baby Gear and Inexpensive
Alternatives by Real Moms
REVIEW: The Nose That Didn’t Fit Book Set
Kids seem to be able to relate to monsters. I don’t
know why but even I, an adult, can find a warm
spot in my heart for this funny little insecure
monster name Rue. He’s the main character in the
book, The Nose That Didn’t Fit. From the
description, it sounds like a wonderful story that
will facilitate plenty of heart-to-heart talks with
your children. We’ve all had the experience of
feeling that we just don’t fit in, so we can all relate.
But as parents it’s just so much more difficult
to see our children go through those tough times.
Reading the simple story together could be a time
for both parent and child to deal with feelings and
emotions.
