To Activate Space Portal, Lift Here by Antoinette Portis (Neal Porter Books, 56 pages, ages 4-8). Opening the front cover of the book takes readers immediately to a space portal that is opening up to reveal two aliens. Or are we the aliens? That’s the perspective of the creatures who make contact with humans, checking out their teeth to assure themselves they’re safe, exchanging information about planets, and introducing readers to a colorful assortment of their fellow creatures. As the “Power” and “Auto translate” buttons on the bottom go from green to yellow to red, the portal shuts down, and the final pages are black.

This would be a fun, interactive addition to storytime, with the audience being instructed to show their teeth and make a couple of faces to communicate with the aliens. It’s a little gimmicky, but kids are sure to get a kick out of it.

The Monster in the Lake by Leo Timmers (Gecko Press, 36 pages, ages 4-8). A group of birds go for a swim in the lake, but Eric the mallard duck is nervous about running into the monster. “That’s just a story, Eric. There’s no monster in the lake. Just boring old fish and frogs,” his friends assure him. Readers get an underwater view, showing those fish and frogs being chased by a monster. Eric sticks his head in the water and sees it too, but his friends refuse to believe him and keep swimming. As they continue on their way, Eric and the other undersea animals have a party with the monster, culminating with a colorful gatefold illustration of a whole monster neighborhood. When the birds realize Eric has disappeared, they’re afraid there really might be a monster that got Eric, but he emerges on the last page with a kind of ambiguous ending.

This Belgian import features plenty of colorful monster illustrations and lots of humor that will make kids feel like they’re outsmarting the clueless birds. The ending left me scratching my head a bit, but I think kids will enjoy the other elements enough not to really care.