The Eyebrows of Doom

by Steve Smallman, Miguel Ordóñez (Illustrator)

While sweeping his cave one day, a bear named Dave meets two slugs covered in fuzz who look curiously like eyebrows—and they cause hilarious trouble wherever they go!

A bear named Dave is sweeping his cave one day when two slugs, covered in fuzz, emerge from the dust pile and announce that they are THE Eyebrows of Doom . Suddenly, Dave feels the urge to do something unkind, so he crashes through a fence at the nearby campsite and eats all of the campers’ food and knocks down their tents. The evil Eyebrows then find a young girl named Molly, who smushes her ice cream all over her grandfather. But when the Eyebrows try to disrupt things at the zoo, they get a big surprise!
 
Illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez, the illustrator of the best-selling Jimmy Fallon Your Baby's First Word will be DADA , This is BABY , and Everything is MAMA
 
 

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Juvenile

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Steve Smallman lives in Staffordshire with his wife, two dogs and two cats. He has four children and a grandchild. Steve has been illustrating children’s books for almost 30 years and writing his own stories for slightly less. He also teaches illustration workshops in schools, including mural-painting. Steve is the author of Smelly Peter the Great Pea Eater (Winner of the Sheffield Children's Book Award 2009) and The Lamb Who Came for Dinner (Shortlisted for the Red House Children's Book Award and read by Meatloaf on CITV's Bookaboo). When he’s not working, Steve enjoys films, television, gardening and walking in the countryside.

Steve Smallman on Steve Smallman:

I started working as an illustrator when I was in my final year at Art College and now, over 28 years later I still haven't got a proper job! I've illustrated literally hundreds of books, predominantly in educational publishing. A few years ago I was main illustrator for Longman's 'Story Street' reading scheme, illustrating 79 titles and writing 5.

I've worked in children's television, specifically in character development and most notably in the 'Raggy Doll' series in the mid to late 1980's. I have also done a certain amount of licensed work, illustrating characters such as Postman Pat, Bill and Ben and Sesame Street.

I've been described as an 'Animal Artist', not I hasten to add because I'm wild and hairy but because I love to draw animals and especially like to give them human characteristics.

I've been writing children's books for about 6 years and have already had several picture books published with more in development.

I've got 4 great children and although they're all adults now, my memories of them growing up inspire and inform my writing.

Reviews

[Milton Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were slugs, unexpectedly covered in a bunch of fuzz and hair, what would you do? Pretend to be angry eyebrows of course! This wacky picture book follows these slugs causing havoc all around town turning perfectly happy animals into anger filled animals all by jumping on their faces and making angry eyebrows. Will they be captured in the end?

This books is all sorts of absurd scenarios that kids will find hilarious. It was a lot of fun as a read aloud and garnered plenty of laughter. The premise of this book is equally ridiculous and very far fetched. The fact that some slugs can control animal tempers is outrageous. The illustrations were pretty good, and the story fun for story time.

Find it in our SHARE Catalog today!

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 6 and 8 year old laughed a lot at this absurdly funny story! I mean ... as an adult I can look at this and think "what the heck is happening here?" but that absurdity just adds to the playfulness and enjoyment factor for the children it is aimed at. The premise is these two creatures (who the bear named Dave thinks are slugs covered in hair) think they can wreak havoc on others' lives as "the eyebrows of doom" and it turns out: they sure can. All they have to do is attach themselves to the eyebrows of Dave the bear, a seagull named Ron, Molly the playful toddler, and a host of zoo animals ... and everything goes awry. It's a premise that needs no rational explanation. Just enjoy it for the crazy ride it is. The illustrations do a great job of telling the story and the text moves along nicely. It's a literal page turner -- my son kept wanting to peek at the next page before I was finished reading out loud the current one! So fun.

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Publisher's Spotlight. Opinions are my own.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave the bear is having a lovely afternoon until two evil eyebrows attack him and take over his mind! They make him do mean things like eat up all the camper's food, and then they rush off to create havoc at the beach and at the zoo. They take over a seagull named Ron, and make him poop on people's heads. The eyebrows jump on Ned the porcupine and he pokes the zoo guests with his spikes. Can nothing stop them? What will the eyebrows do next?

This book was so hilarious! Every page is sillier and funnier than the last, and I was giggling through the whole thing. The story is completely wild and ridiculous, and I loved every second of it!

The illustrations make the story even funnier, because the animals look so silly with these big hairy eyebrows jumping on their face. I loved the colorful art work and the minimalistic style.

What a great book! This one is sure to have you and the kids laughing!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Ken Yuen · Rating 5 out of 5]

God this was cute. And it rhymes!

[Lydia Timpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this out of our library for a book to read at Storytime. I liked the title and read the book and actually laughed out loud.
The rhyming structure is wonderful and makes sense and flows and would work fantastically for being read aloud. The Illustrations are hilarious and there are so many little things for you to look at that you could easily spend a good five minutes on each page.
Although Oi Frog etc may be my favourite picture book this is a strong contender for my second favourite. I'll probably buy a copy and I don't even have kids!

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only wish I could read this to my niece in person! She just turned three going on six, and this silly rhyming book will entertain her and probably have her older sister rolling as well. And to the prudes of the world, let it be known that this book uses both the words "poop" and "snot", which guarantee to make it a favorite! This is one of those books where if you read it just right, you can make it kind of scary, but the pictures are so adorable, it isn't going to cause nightmares - just giggles.

[Maree Silver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, good rhymes and nice stylised illustrations.

[Lisa Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny book of dust bunnies pretending to be eyebrows! I love it!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun rhyming book. The hairy slugs are kind of gross so kids will 🤣 that.

[Our Weekend Is Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

he Eyebrows of Doom is a super silly book written in verse about two clumps of hair that call themselves the eyebrows of doom. In the midst of sweeping, Dave, the bear, is confronted by the eyebrows of doom. It doesn't take long for Dave's demeanor to change and now he is driven to do something unkind. Dave wreaks havoc on campers by jumping on their tents and eating their food. It's time for the eyebrows to move on to their next victim. Next up is a seagull who poops on some beach-goers and then little Molly who is mean to her grandfather.

When the eyebrows go to the zoo, they cause chaos. The zookeeper, John, and Dave, the bear, chase the eyebrows of doom until they end up in Edna Elephant's nose. In the blink of an eye, she sneezes them out and the eyebrows end up in the ocean. The animals rejoice that the eyebrows of doom are gone, but are they really gone?

The illustrations in this book display the talent of Miguel Ordóñez, an award-winning illustrator. In particular, I enjoyed the illustrations of the eyebrows running around the zoo. It felt like you could trace their movements on the page.

The Eyebrows of Doom is a book that will appeal to children, especially those that like a good poop joke. In addition, it is an excellent learning tool for teachers when it comes to discussing emotions with their students.

*This review first appeared on yabookcentral.com*

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This outlandish picture book is a 2.5 for me, but I'm certain young readers will find it hilarious. Honestly, every time I start to think that every possible story has been told, along comes something like this with fierce, possibly evil eyebrows, to make me change my mind. Complemented by flat digital illustrations, the story follows a pair of eyebrows that wreak havoc everywhere they go. First, they twist the mind of Dave, a simple bear who met them when he was tidying up his place. After he's made a mess of other people's lives, the eyebrows plague a seagull, a toddler, and various zoo animals. But they may have met their match when an elephant sneezes them into the sea. (Or maybe not, as the last illustration seems to show.) I'm not enamored with the rhyming text used to tell the story, but I did like the way the two eyebrows speak to each other, conversations readers can see at the bottom of the pages. While the digital artwork works well with this outlandish story, the resulting images are rather flat and one-dimensional and not particularly pleasing to my eyes. Young readers may like them, though, since there is quite a bit of age-appropriate humor [poop bombing, for instance] and silliness in their contents.

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Eyebrows of Doom is a hilarious, laugh-out-loud book by author Steve Smallman. The premise of the book is that eyebrows one and two are naughty little eyebrows and they like to cause mischief by attaching themselves to the faces of different people/animals and making them behave badly.

The story is told in a kind of rhyming style, some parts do, others not quite so much. The text is easy to read and there are no hard words, so perfect for new readers.

The bright, colourful illustrations will bring the reader lots of joy, especially as they show all the naughty things the people/animals are made to do such as a seagull peppering people with poop.

The Eyebrows of Doom is a book that will give children the giggles. It’s a lot of fun the whole way through, pure silliness, and is completely barmy but it really is a fab read.

[Cornelius Clinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Eyebrows of Doom is silly. It's total nonsense and will have young and old frowning and giggling at the same time. Yes, the jokes are lame, and some are even a bit gross, but there is no way anyone can resist laughing out loud at least a couple of times as they read the book. The rhyming is not everyone's idea of good literature, but it's highly effective in conveying what this book is about: complete silliness!

Read my full review here: https://corneliusclinger.com/2022/05/...

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big bear named Dave is cleaning his cave when he uncovers the Eyebrows of Doom who jump on his face turning him into an unkind bear. They go from animal to animal causing chaos everywhere they go until they crawl into Edna Elephant's nose. This book is a funny example of a facial feedback where your facial expression affects how you actually feel. Pair with "The Sneezing Song" by Jim Gill for a preschool storytime.

[Katie Reilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far fetched, amazingly funny picture book where two hair covered slugs become the “eyebrows of doom” and cause havoc through town.

Would be a silly read aloud with younger kiddos. With my older 4/5th grade readers, I’d use this one to open discussion of how body language (starting with scrunched eyebrows) may show our emotions to others.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adorable story about two slugs covered in hair causing a ruckus by becoming angry eyebrows that change the mood of the animals they jump on. Steve Smallman and Miguel Ordonez team up to create a laugh out loud funny story that is predictable and extraordinarily funny!

My students who just want books that make them laugh will love this title!

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Eyebrows of Doom jump up on Dave the bear and Dave finds himself doing mean things. The eyebrows jump to a seagull named Ron and Ron starts doing ugly things. On and on, the Eyebrows of Doom go, from animal to animal, transforming nice animals into terrible ones.

[A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

There really is a picture book about everything.

[Thais Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute children’s book. Just fun and hilarious

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO silly that I think it has become my new favorite. I can't wait to share it in story time!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - I'm too old for this nonsense but kids will like it

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this! Bwahahahaha!

[Casseroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hilarious! The picture needs to be uploaded here because the cover is funny!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What crazy eyebrows. I hope the author has a follow-up book about other emotions.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read that can also lead to further conversations about justifying unhappy behaviors and how sometimes we seem to pick those up environmentally.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The chaos when the Eyebrows of doom spread their grumpiness and naughtiness around.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity of this story!

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOL! This delightfully bizarre book will have readers young and old laughing at its goofy, off-the-wall sense of humor.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is HILARIOUS!
Be careful of the eyebrows.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is hilarious! The writing is very lyrical which is beautiful and funny since parts of the book is about poop and various smells.