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Rotten Island
The perfect picture book for rambunctious kids―monsters of all kinds battle it out every day on Rotten Island. But can all that glorious rottenness last forever? “Without question, the monster book of the year.”― Boston Globe
What would happen if every creature on land and sea were free to be as rotten as possible? If every day was a free-for-all; if plants grew barbed wire; if the ocean were poison? That’s life on Rotten Island. For creatures that slither, creep, and crawl (not to mention kick, bite, scratch, and play nasty tricks on each other), Rotten Island is paradise.
But then, on a typically rotten day, something truly awful happens. Something that could spoil Rotten Island forever. Out of a bed a gravel on the scorched earth, a mysterious, beautiful flower begins to grow… This is a wonderfully raucous, fantastically colorful, reminder that nothing rotten lasts forever.
William Steig was a master of the children’s book. Author of Shrek! ―the basis for the movie series―and many other beloved and award-winning titles, Rotten Island is Steig at his imaginative best.
What would happen if every creature on land and sea were free to be as rotten as possible? If every day was a free-for-all; if plants grew barbed wire; if the ocean were poison? That’s life on Rotten Island. For creatures that slither, creep, and crawl (not to mention kick, bite, scratch, and play nasty tricks on each other), Rotten Island is paradise.
But then, on a typically rotten day, something truly awful happens. Something that could spoil Rotten Island forever. Out of a bed a gravel on the scorched earth, a mysterious, beautiful flower begins to grow… This is a wonderfully raucous, fantastically colorful, reminder that nothing rotten lasts forever.
William Steig was a master of the children’s book. Author of Shrek! ―the basis for the movie series―and many other beloved and award-winning titles, Rotten Island is Steig at his imaginative best.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
3 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
William Steig
128 books423 followersWilliam Steig was born in New York City in 1907. In a family where every member was involved in the arts, it was not surprising that Steig became an artist.
He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, embarking on a new and very different career.
Steig's books reflect his conviction that children want the security of a devoted family and friends. When Sylvester, Farmer Palmer, Abel, Pearl, Gorky, Solomon, and Irene eventually get home, their families are all waiting, and beginning with Amos & Boris, friendship is celebrated in story after story.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...
He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, embarking on a new and very different career.
Steig's books reflect his conviction that children want the security of a devoted family and friends. When Sylvester, Farmer Palmer, Abel, Pearl, Gorky, Solomon, and Irene eventually get home, their families are all waiting, and beginning with Amos & Boris, friendship is celebrated in story after story.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 3, 2022
Another delightfully written and illustrated book by the magnanimous William Steig. 'Rotten Island' is about an island full of loathsome, hateful creatures whose biggest joy is reveling in their hideousness and basking in each others pain. That is... until one day a flower grows on the island and the irate creatures do not know what to make of such a beautiful form. This incomprehensible sight sends them into rage induced furies, and a full fledged WAR against one another is set into motion. This went on and on until they destroyed each other, and the miserable and grotesque creatures had at long last "given up their ghosts." Rotten Island was no more - the island now grows only the most beautiful of flowers - and soon birds began frequenting the newly formed, "beautiful" island.... Highly recommend.
November 2, 2019
Wow! I must admit that I did not like reading this before bed to the kids. It’s an unsettling book and it stressed me out. The colors are vivid and it’s artistic, but the story is repulsive. It does give us a good and hopeful ending, but I don’t know that it outweighs how horrible the story is.
The creatures on this nasty island are all evil and vile and ugly and like being that way. They fight the whole book. Words like cursing, blaming, scratching and shoving along with Loathed and abominated are all over the place. I feel slimed after reading this. They love to see each other suffer and hurt. I mean it’s like a story about hell. There didn’t seem to be much point to it. I read the preface to myself and he is conveying the ugliness of the world and how we treat one another in these pages, but its extreme.
Flowers begin to show up on this horrible island of terror and it drives the beasties wild. They all fight till they kill each other off. After a night of a hard freeze, the next day the island is covered with flowers and it’s so beautiful. It’s an odd resolution, but I guess the only one.
I can appreciate the statement here, so I gave it 3 stars, but I personally don’t want to read this one again. It is an artistic statement and it does make you feel, but that doesn’t mean I want to experience that again.
The nephew didn’t really know what to make of this either. He thought the monsters were cool at first, but he didn’t like it when they were really fighting and hurting one another. That bothered him. When the island was covered in flowers, he thought that felt strange. This story confused him. He gave this 2 stars, but he said it had some of the coolest monsters ever.
The creatures on this nasty island are all evil and vile and ugly and like being that way. They fight the whole book. Words like cursing, blaming, scratching and shoving along with Loathed and abominated are all over the place. I feel slimed after reading this. They love to see each other suffer and hurt. I mean it’s like a story about hell. There didn’t seem to be much point to it. I read the preface to myself and he is conveying the ugliness of the world and how we treat one another in these pages, but its extreme.
Flowers begin to show up on this horrible island of terror and it drives the beasties wild. They all fight till they kill each other off. After a night of a hard freeze, the next day the island is covered with flowers and it’s so beautiful. It’s an odd resolution, but I guess the only one.
I can appreciate the statement here, so I gave it 3 stars, but I personally don’t want to read this one again. It is an artistic statement and it does make you feel, but that doesn’t mean I want to experience that again.
The nephew didn’t really know what to make of this either. He thought the monsters were cool at first, but he didn’t like it when they were really fighting and hurting one another. That bothered him. When the island was covered in flowers, he thought that felt strange. This story confused him. He gave this 2 stars, but he said it had some of the coolest monsters ever.
December 27, 2015
Really fun, colorful illustrations. The setup describing an incredible ecosystem where unique creatures live and interact with each other is wonderful, if a bit repetitve. I thought the "rotten" island was great, cool, and much more interesting than the "beautiful" world that begins to grow when the rotten environment is destroyed. The new environment looks like the Earth we know, with flowers and birds, and sadly, super boring. Bring back the fighting monsters! Lots to ponder here about morality, destruction, how/why the rotten world is destroyed, rebirth, and which world is preferable, with an ambiguous ending.
May 17, 2015
I'm not sure I can think of any adult illustrators whose art is as uninhibited and truthful as a child's--until now. This is one amazing picture book. The inventiveness of the monsters and the 'horrible island' is amazing.
As to the tale, it's certainly a commentary on the idea of beauty that may come after total ruin and chaos.
Such a different book! But in a great way. Lots of fun.
As to the tale, it's certainly a commentary on the idea of beauty that may come after total ruin and chaos.
Such a different book! But in a great way. Lots of fun.
June 9, 2015
This is one of my favorite William Steig books, have read it to students out loud several times over the years it never gets old. The vocabulary is exquisite, fun, playful and right on the mark. It's truly a wonderful read to inspire those non-readers (boys) to love reading especially after realizing Shrek was originally written as a picture book.
September 27, 2011
I'd love to use this book in a middle school lesson on allegory or symbolism, but for now we use it to talk about theme. We also compare and contrast it with Steig's Shrek. I'm ready to conclude this author's study.
June 1, 2016
Beautiful illustrations with great colors, but they are all kind of the same.
May 18, 2010
"Without question, the monster book of the year."
— Boston Globe
"Not since Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are has there been such a glorious nightmare of a book."
— People
"Stupendous."
— The Philadelphia Inquirer
"As visually exciting a book as has ever been produced for children."
— The Detroit News
"What a glorious book! [It:] bubbles, almost boils with color."
— Washington Post Book World
"A gorgeously colored picture book, full of monsters, mayhem and a take-it-or-leave-it message. . .about the redeeming power of Nature."
— Newsday
— Boston Globe
"Not since Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are has there been such a glorious nightmare of a book."
— People
"Stupendous."
— The Philadelphia Inquirer
"As visually exciting a book as has ever been produced for children."
— The Detroit News
"What a glorious book! [It:] bubbles, almost boils with color."
— Washington Post Book World
"A gorgeously colored picture book, full of monsters, mayhem and a take-it-or-leave-it message. . .about the redeeming power of Nature."
— Newsday
February 23, 2017
One sees in this book the full, detailed appreciation Steig got from his therapy with Wilhelm Reich, of the depths and savagery of human armoring. Yet one also sees hope for the day when-- armoring having destroyed itself at last-- unarmored life can restore itself. My children loved this book for both the brutal savagery and for the hope bursting eternal with the arrival of every new Spring. Steig's genius was his ability to convey such profound things in terms children can clearly understand.
November 3, 2019
So, is this the story behind the Burgess Shale fossils? ;)
I think it might be a neat fable in its own way, but I keep getting hung up on how long it takes Steig to *unsuccessfully* define what's so rotten about the critters. It reminds me too much of the old days, when beautiful girls of storybooks were always blond & blue-eyed, and carnivores were automatically wicked villains.
I think it might be a neat fable in its own way, but I keep getting hung up on how long it takes Steig to *unsuccessfully* define what's so rotten about the critters. It reminds me too much of the old days, when beautiful girls of storybooks were always blond & blue-eyed, and carnivores were automatically wicked villains.
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August 17, 2007I know this book by its old title, Bad Island. I spent a lot of time as a kid looking at the illustrations of the monsters.
August 31, 2010
taken at face value, it's a hoot. you can go deeper, but since it's a kids book, why bother? you can read this one a hundred times.
February 11, 2015
Lots of "big words" in this book, but I think to the point of excess.
Loved the illustrations though.
Loved the illustrations though.
September 24, 2011
Oftentimes, the book with the most trenchant and meaningful message will come in the most innocuous form.
November 6, 2019
Really just an excuse for Steig to draw pages upon pages of ridiculous monsters. I'm ok w/ this.
Rotten Island is actually a peninsula
Rotten Island is actually a peninsula
March 25, 2018
Beautiful colorful illustrations!
July 21, 2018
seems rather on point to 2018.
May 31, 2017
This is a bizarre, but insightfull tale about the futility of war and the beauty of nature's ability to renew itself and persist despite the devastating destruction caused by warfare.
The narrative is a bit long for younger children and the overall story is likely to appeal to older children.
The story is very descriptive and some of the vocabulary is fairly advanced.
William Steig's illustrations are extremely colorful and creative; the fearsome creatures are menacing, but cute in a strange way.
The drawings have a childlike quality that celebrate the unlimited potential of our imagination.
Overall, it is an entertaining story with very unique illustrations. I really enjoyed reading this book.
The narrative is a bit long for younger children and the overall story is likely to appeal to older children.
The story is very descriptive and some of the vocabulary is fairly advanced.
William Steig's illustrations are extremely colorful and creative; the fearsome creatures are menacing, but cute in a strange way.
The drawings have a childlike quality that celebrate the unlimited potential of our imagination.
Overall, it is an entertaining story with very unique illustrations. I really enjoyed reading this book.
March 4, 2024
Steig writes a Punk Rock version of "Where the Wild Things Are". Nobody captures the chaotic, nasty side of a child's imagination like this crazy old man. The colours are belligerent, the pages are crowded with monstrosities, and the sadistic creates who inhabit the island are deranged!
If you're one of those parents/teachers/librarians who like moral fables, and believe the inner world of children consists only of gumdrops and baby deer, steer clear of this book. If you can overcome your knee-jerk reaction to the tone of this story, I think you would be surprised by how many kids respond to this. I swear I drew stuff just like this when I was 7.
Rotten Island is not quite as good as Shrek narratively, and it will be even more divisive with readers, but the positively unhinged monster battles are worth the price of admission!
If you're one of those parents/teachers/librarians who like moral fables, and believe the inner world of children consists only of gumdrops and baby deer, steer clear of this book. If you can overcome your knee-jerk reaction to the tone of this story, I think you would be surprised by how many kids respond to this. I swear I drew stuff just like this when I was 7.
Rotten Island is not quite as good as Shrek narratively, and it will be even more divisive with readers, but the positively unhinged monster battles are worth the price of admission!
April 29, 2024
This book rules! I wish I'd known about it when I was a kid, because it is very much in line with a lot of my artistic interests at one extended point in time...drawing crazy monsters in weird settings. The pictures are hyperkinetic in their style, and very vibrant with color, but also very childlike I'm sure kids would find inspiring (like in a 'hey! I can draw monsters like that!' kinda way). Also a cool story about the baffling and transforming power of beauty.
August 23, 2025
Crazy colorful pictures
"double-headed toads"
"petrified sauerkraut"
When a flower mysteriously appears on Rotten Island, all the inhabitants are afraid. More flowers begin growing and the hateful life the creatures of the island have lived thus far gets worse: its war. They kill each other off and after a night of rain with no freezing, the island is no longer rotten but beautiful.
"double-headed toads"
"petrified sauerkraut"
When a flower mysteriously appears on Rotten Island, all the inhabitants are afraid. More flowers begin growing and the hateful life the creatures of the island have lived thus far gets worse: its war. They kill each other off and after a night of rain with no freezing, the island is no longer rotten but beautiful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2024
It's Steig pouring out a phantasmagoria of beasties over 30 odd pages with his irresistible and fluid line. Steig's drawing just got better over the years, and this is one of his later books. A feast!
April 3, 2023
Greatest picture book ever, even better than Little Wee Tyke and The Hobyahs! The Supper's Ready or Gates of Delirium of picture books. As good as Where the Wild Things Are, in its way.
July 30, 2023
Perennial favorite allegorical tale of creating a world that works for everyone for very young readers.
September 13, 2023
A bit wordy for younger children. Beautiful connections between words and drawings.
July 12, 2025
It was a better time when children's books didn't have to be childish.
June 30, 2016
Jasper (2.5yo) picked out this book at the library all by himself. I'm not sure what to make of it. It's about a bunch of monsters on a horrible island with bizarre and dangerous weather patterns who take great pleasure in causing others pain. Then a beautiful flower shows up and... well, you'll have to read it for yourself.
Illustrations are very vibrant - perhaps that's what Jas liked about the book
Illustrations are very vibrant - perhaps that's what Jas liked about the book
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September 22, 2016The horrible ugly creatures on Rotten Island loved their horrible lives until a beautiful flower sprouted up. The creatures attacked each other until they all died. The next day the island was covered with beautiful flowers.
June 23, 2008
One of Raul Andres' favorite books. I wish this one had been part of my childhood
January 30, 2009
One of my favorite books to read to the kids.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews