Boris and Bella
Who says opposites attract? Feuding over the fence is inevitable with Bella Legrossi, the messiest monster in Booville, living next door to Boris Kleanitoff, neat freak extraordinaire. If they don't find a way around their difficulties, they will be the two saddest guests at Harry Beastie's Halloween party.
Boris Kleanitoff can't stand living next door to a slob like Bella Legrossi. Bella's yard is full of crusty old cauldrons. She finds him just as annoying as a neighbour. His bewitched broomsticks go on sweeping and sweeping and sweeping.
Their extreme hygiene habits haven't won them many friends among the townsfolk of Booville either. That's why no one will come to their parties on Hallowe'en and everyone is going to Harry Beastie's instead. They stomp over to confront Harry, only to find themselves unnoticed at a lively Halloween bash where everyone is having a great time but them. Their Halloween would have been ruined except for the surprise discovery that, on the dance floor, these two misfits are a perfect fit for one another.
This book is a first-time collaboration between two talents who are also a good, if quirky, fit. (See their websites.) Carolyn Crimi has given us a touching story of kindred spirits finding one another despite polar opposite exteriors. Her words are carefully chosen to make a little say a lot, and often wittily chosen for the kind of word play that 4 to 7 year olds can slide into easily. Gris Grimly's drawings take us to the light side of the dark side. There are the yucky, slimy bugs and the grotesquely malformed monsters, but somehow his Booville comes together as a happy, friendly town, just the kind of place where you'd like to spend Halloween.
The pictures are rich in detail with the kind of small discoveries wkids love to make, like the little skull on Boris's lamp chain, or the one-eyed monster in the fedora that keeps popping up. This is the kind of book adults enjoy as much as children. In fact, if a bat flaps up to my house with an invitation to Boris and Bella's next Halloween party, I'm going.
