Bergman's (Bears, Bears Everywhere!
) shaggy-dog/ghost-story includes just enough repetition and courageous characters to help youngest story lovers overcome their fears. The tale begins, "When the alligator came creeping
... creeping
... creeping
up the stairs... were the children scared?" The answer becomes a chorus-like refrain: "You bet they were!
" As the dreaded reptile grows closer, the aurally delicious prose raises the stakes: "The alligator's tongue was flicking. The alligator's feet were kicking. Then the alligator's mouth opened up v-e-r-y wide, creak
... creak
... creak
... as if to invite the children inside." The goofy gothic mood carries on in British artist Maland's florid, etching-like pictures and melodramatic characterizations; he mitigates the menacing critter's motives with a sunny palette that gives a strong hint that the children are not on the menu. The artist's wide-angle views of long hallways and cropped panel illustrations of reptile body parts pay cheeky homage to the creature feature: the alligator does not appear in full until the last few pages. (A wordless spread of the alligator's snout provides a fitting visual climax.) But this monster turns out to be all menace and no mayhem: when the children "decided they'd had enough of all this scary alligator stuff," they yell at the dragon-size beast and send him on his way. A great read-aloud and a good giggle. Ages 2-up. (Apr.)
