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The Real-Skin Rubber Monster Mask
Jim loves his Halloween mask with all his heart -- until the night he wears it. When he sees it reflected in the big glass doors, suddenly his mask looks scary. Too scary. Halloween will be horrible! That's what Jim thinks, until his friend Willy comes to his rescue with a quick costume swap.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 19, 2016
The Real-Skin Rubber Monster Mask is a picture book originally published in 1990. Though the characters are now in secodn grade, it is the final book in the First Grade Friends series, which began in 1967 with Will I Have a Friend? The story focuses on Jim, who loves his scary Halloween mask until he puts it on and realizes how truly frightening he looks. Then he begins to wonder if dressing as a monster could turn him into one!
This book is significant for me for two main reasons. One is that I just learned, when preparing to write this post, that Miriam Cohen is from Newburgh, NY, which is very close to where I grew up. I don't think the fact that she lived there really informs her books, but it makes me feel a certain affinity for her writing. And the second reason is that, somehow, I associate Lillian Hoban's illustrations very strongly with my own early elementary years. Though her books existed long before I did, even the earliest ones feel like a representation of my personal experiences. I can't necessarily place why - it's one of those feelings that seems more meaningful if I don't try to put it into words.
I don't remember reading this specific book as a child, and I suspect that I probably didn't, since I turned 8 in 1990 and wasn't reading many picture books. Still, though, there are a lot of features and characters I recognized from the series in general. Anna Maria, the bossy, know-it-all girl was instantly recognizable even though she only played a minor part in the plot of this story. I also remembered Paul as the first friend Jim makes in first grade in Will I Have a Friend?
This book is 21 years old, and when compared with today's picture books, I suppose one can tell it's not a contemporary title. It's also out of print, but I am kind of surprised by that, since it's still a relevant story, and I have always considered this series to be one of the must-reads for early elementary school. I think this book, in particular, does a great job of using dialogue to establish the dynamics between the kids in Jim's second grade class. Though the plot focuses mainly on Jim, each of the series favorites makes an appearance and interjects a bit of his or her personality into the story.
I also think the subject matter is just right for the gentle tone of this book. Jim, like many little boys, wants to prove himself to his friends by showing he is tough and ready to handle scary stuff, but deep down, he's still not quite ready to be scared out of his mind, and learns quickly that being funny on Halloween is just as much fun as being scary.
Kids today might be somewhat more desensitized to scary stuff than I was as a kid, especially given the movies they watch and computer games they play, but I still get asked at least once a week for non-scary books for boys and girls around age 7, and it's wonderful to have a book like this on hand to recommend, especially for Halloween, when scary and creepy seem to be the order of the day.
Miriam Cohen was born in 1926, and her most recent book, Mimmy and Sophie: All around the Town was published in 2004. Lillian Hoban was also the illustrator of the Frances the Badger books. She passed away in 1998. Her legacy lives on at http://www.lillianhoban.com/.
This book is significant for me for two main reasons. One is that I just learned, when preparing to write this post, that Miriam Cohen is from Newburgh, NY, which is very close to where I grew up. I don't think the fact that she lived there really informs her books, but it makes me feel a certain affinity for her writing. And the second reason is that, somehow, I associate Lillian Hoban's illustrations very strongly with my own early elementary years. Though her books existed long before I did, even the earliest ones feel like a representation of my personal experiences. I can't necessarily place why - it's one of those feelings that seems more meaningful if I don't try to put it into words.
I don't remember reading this specific book as a child, and I suspect that I probably didn't, since I turned 8 in 1990 and wasn't reading many picture books. Still, though, there are a lot of features and characters I recognized from the series in general. Anna Maria, the bossy, know-it-all girl was instantly recognizable even though she only played a minor part in the plot of this story. I also remembered Paul as the first friend Jim makes in first grade in Will I Have a Friend?
This book is 21 years old, and when compared with today's picture books, I suppose one can tell it's not a contemporary title. It's also out of print, but I am kind of surprised by that, since it's still a relevant story, and I have always considered this series to be one of the must-reads for early elementary school. I think this book, in particular, does a great job of using dialogue to establish the dynamics between the kids in Jim's second grade class. Though the plot focuses mainly on Jim, each of the series favorites makes an appearance and interjects a bit of his or her personality into the story.
I also think the subject matter is just right for the gentle tone of this book. Jim, like many little boys, wants to prove himself to his friends by showing he is tough and ready to handle scary stuff, but deep down, he's still not quite ready to be scared out of his mind, and learns quickly that being funny on Halloween is just as much fun as being scary.
Kids today might be somewhat more desensitized to scary stuff than I was as a kid, especially given the movies they watch and computer games they play, but I still get asked at least once a week for non-scary books for boys and girls around age 7, and it's wonderful to have a book like this on hand to recommend, especially for Halloween, when scary and creepy seem to be the order of the day.
Miriam Cohen was born in 1926, and her most recent book, Mimmy and Sophie: All around the Town was published in 2004. Lillian Hoban was also the illustrator of the Frances the Badger books. She passed away in 1998. Her legacy lives on at http://www.lillianhoban.com/.
October 3, 2017
This book I picked because it really shows that sometimes your imagination can get the best of you. I love how it also shows what suggestions can do, he kept hearing how scary the mask was that it started to actually scare him. I also love that his friends helped him in the end by sharing.
June 1, 2012
It's Halloween afternoon and Jim still can't decide what his costume should be. Finally he finds the real-skin rubber mask. It's perfect! However, as he's trick-or-treating he gets a look at himself in a window. Boy is he scary! His friends won't let him trick-or-treat without a costume. So he borrows the meatball from a friends spaghetti and meatballs costume. Jim decides that the next year he is going to be something funny for Halloween. He'd rather make people laugh than shriek!
October 27, 2016
As an adult I wasn't sure what the story was about but I "think" it's him wanting to be scary but then gets scared himself. And the ending is abrupt and unimaginative. And way too many characters to keep straighr. Maybe it was meant for older readers but my 4 year old had a hard time engaging with book too.
November 12, 2008
Any books with pictures by Lillian Hoban will be gobbled up by my 5 year old.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews