Now, I’m that person that roots for the bull instead of the cowboy in bull riding. I love watching the golf ball spin aaaroooound the hole and not go in. I will cheer for the curling kettle to “go go go! Aaaand out of bounds!” So it should come as no surprise that I will have a hearty hurrah when it comes to movie monsters. And I have a soft spot for Godzilla. But not in Godzilla Stomp! by Katherine Locke.
You see, Locke’s Godzilla might have too much sea water in their ears so they think when the characters of the Fairytale Village they have arrived at are yelling STOP! He hears, STOMP. He obliges too. He stomps Cinderella’s coach, Little Red’s grandmother’s house and just wrecks the entire place. What are some poor fairy tale people to do?
(This is the part of things that I say: SPOILER)
Nothing. The monster wanders back off to the sea and leaves the mess for someone else to clean up. Okay, whatever. I mean it is just a story. It is funny (ish) and clever (mostly) and I don’t think I’ve read anything exactly like this, so it is unique. The illustrations keep the lightheartedness going, they are colorful, full, rounded, minimal detailed (relying on the colors and the fact STOMP is the word of the day).
Nikolas Ilic is the perpetrator of the illustrations and you can enjoy them in mid October 2026 unless you find an online reader copy (as I did) or other reader copy format. I’m assuming it will be a slightly larger picture book form as the final product, but not positive. I am positive that today I am not against this book, tomorrow I might not like it and in a few days it will be my favorite. So come October find this book and let me know how you feel after each reading. Because I know your kid is going to find this their go to book for a long long long (did I say long?) time.
