And You Thought Your Childhood Was Messed Up...

We were talking about lists today, and the kids section’s funny habit of making lots and lots of lists. Books on a theme, like WWII or moving, or books set in Seattle, or books with Native American characters, and on and on. Notebooks of them clutter our desk. We mentioned in passing to a coworker that a favorite list was of books where the main character gets eaten, and she was amused. I’m not sure if she believed that we really had the list, but we were soon pulling out picture book after picture book with the same tragic plot development. As she requested, we have provided the list below. Enjoy!

Picture Books Where the (or a) Main Character(s) Get Eaten:

Rotten and Rascal: Two Terrible Pterosaur Twins by Paul Geraghty
Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Scott Magoon
Tadpole’s Promise by Jean Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross
Wolves by Emily Gravett
I’m The Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
Pierre: A Cautionary Tale by Maurice Sendak
Beware of the Frog by William Bee

Not included were:
Mr. Maxwell’s Mouse by Frank Asch– because, our notes say, of a “last minute reprieve”
I’d Really Like to Eat a Child by Sylviane Donnio, illustrated by Dorothee De Monfried– because, though not for lack of trying, no child is actually eaten
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag– because while “hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats…[eat] each other all up,” they’re not main characters. And three other older titles that are either out of print or we no longer carry…

Phew. Now, can you name any we’ve forgotten? Put ‘em in comments. And stay tuned for lists like “gender comedy in picture books” and “books where a duck adopts an alligator or vice versa” (we can name three right now, but won’t).

--Anna M.