Pretty Ugly

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 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.

Such a cute little picture book. I love that it was dedicated to David's sister, Tiffany and it is inspired by his other sister, Amy. I liked the illustrations. Very simple but perfect for the story.

OK, this children’s book was both amusing, funny and scary, I really recommend this book for this scary season, for kids from 7 to 10 years old, and even more if they like to make scary faces hahah. Personally my kids loved to listen to this story, and the drawings are also very well done.

Its a very short book, and I think even if the kids don’t like to read very much, but if they like scary stories, they will enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Astra Publishing House, TOON Books, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Disgustingly hilarious. Hilariously disgusting. You can never tell where David Sedaris is going and that's what makes his work so charming.

What an adorable read. I really think this book will be super popular at my library and I will highly recommend it to all my younger patrons for sure.

Cute picture book to remind kiddos of the real meaning of reaching deep inside and being who you are. Anna Van Ogre was her best when she was herself but when she started making terrible faces like bunnies, and of all things the scariest face of all...a child. She turns from ogre to button-eyed, pig-tailed, rosey-cheeked little girl who scares all her ogre family to worry. She has to reach deep down inside to find her true self! (haha!) Super fun story that kids will get a kick out of and maybe come up with some other wise tales their families tell them that aren't really all that true.

Wow! I didn’t see that ending coming and I am sure our young patrons will love it!
The combination of the David Sedaris humour and the Ian Falconer illustrations will win over any young reader who likes a surprise and a laugh with their family as they read about Anna Van Ogre and her family!

I appreciated how this story for children kind of displayed the idea of beauty as a construct, fabricated by the society/environment/etc. one grows in. This really can help parents and caregivers have real conversations with children about this topic and encourage them to be authentic to themselves, to find beauty for the self. In all, I think it was a humorous story that can perpetuate a larger discourse on beauty and aesthetics. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this e-ARC!