The Very Hungry Plant

Though this picture book romp starts with a friendly poke at Eric Carle’s hungry caterpillar, it soon powers beyond that into a fast-moving riot of imaginative fun. Moriconi (The Little Barbarian) paints an Audrey II–esque carnivorous plant, its upward-facing mouth lined with fine red teeth. The bright rays of the sun above it do not satisfy its hunger, “because it was a carnivorous plant.” A page turn shows a familiar-looking caterpillar suspended just above the figure’s open jaws (the actual act of consumption is not pictured), a meal that also fails to sate it. Hand-brushed, bold black text on the verso gives a thump of emphasis to every munch as the plant dispatches small animals, a gymnast and an acrobat, a parachutist... and keeps on going. “The plant grew, and so did its hunger,” Moriconi intones after each meal. The artist keeps the spreads spare and simple, the better to enjoy the book’s resolute, bloody-minded hero. The menu is so wonderfully daft and Moriconi’s paintings are so droll that there’s no time to be frightened en route to a punch line that’s as brutally funny as it is unexpected. Ages 3–7. [em](Aug.) [/em]