David Sedaris writes a simple, funny, creepy, picture book that will delight kids and adults too. The main character is an Ogre who doesn’t heed her mother's warning about making faces. This book is a quick read with a delightful twist. I can easily envision reading this to children in my library and am sure it would be welcome on any shelf. The illustrations are simple and yet enhance the story. I was sad to read the illustrator, Ian Falconer (he drew my beloved Olivia books) has now passed away. Thank you to Astra Publishing House, Toon Books and NetGalley for the ARC and I am leaving voluntary review.

I fell in love with reading at an early age, and I credit a lot of that to the silliness of Shel Silverstein. He made all things fun, and the illustrations paired with his writing added a perfect visual.

It had never occurred to me that my beloved David Sedaris is a grown-up equivalent of Shel Silverstein. I’m not sure how I missed it: The wicked humor, perfect wording, zest for quirk, even the drawings he’ll create if you’re lucky enough to meet him before a reading- the evidence was all there.

Pretty Ugly is a perfect pairing of Sedaris’ humor with illustrations by the recently deceased Ian Falconer. I chuckled throughout, then re-read it to pay more attention to Falconer’s work the second time around. I’m a grown adult, and this filled me with glee.

I can’t wait to see this in print. I’ll be sure to get it into the hands of both child and adult patrons. I already have an idea for a fun multi-age display.

Just perfect. Massive thanks to David Sedaris and Ian Falconer for creating this, and NetGalley via Astra Publishing House for granting my request to view a digital ARC. You made my day.

David Sedaris and Ian Falconer team up to make a cute and creepy picture book. What's not to love? This is a little piece of weird in the David Sedaris style. The main character, a homage to Sedaris's sister Amy, makes a face and it sticks that way. What follows is a small tale of inside beauty and outside beauty. And tack sandwiches.

It took me minutes to read and I loved all of them.

Short, sharp and punchy with a delightfully creepy twist at the end. Kids will enjoy the play on "it's what's inside that counts". Sure to capture the attention of readers of all ages.

Anna Van Ogre is a beautiful little girl. Well, beautiful for a monster that is. She loves to cause mischief as a good monster should. One of her favorite things to do is change her face to that of something cute to scare others. Despite her mother's warning that one day she may get stuck like that, she continues to do so. One day she manages to make the scariest face of all, a cute little human girl! Unfortunately, she does get stuck that way and no matter how hard everyone tries, they can't manage to turn her back. She looks deep inside herself to find how to be beautiful.

I read a lot of children's books every day due to my job. I can almost always predict how a book is going to end. This was one of the rare times that I couldn't. This book managed to remain a wild ride from beginning to end. While I am personally a fan of cute things, I can see the appeal in the book for young children that are more drawn to things on the grosser and less cute side. The story is well-paced and is short enough to keep a child's attention for the duration of a read.

A quick read that’s both scary and hilarious! Pretty Ugly showcases Sedaris’s dark humor and Falconer’s artistic expertise.

Thanks to NetGalley and TOON Books for an eARC of this book.