Kirkus Review
If anyone else tried to pull off a stunt like this, it would probably fall fiat; but Turkle invests his characters--and scenes--with enough homely aplomb to win over a confirmed skeptic. Here we meet Miss Moody, beach-dweller and scavenger, and the-cat--the-sea-washed-in, Captain Kidd. The day after a raging storm, they find a blue bottle on the beach, labeled DO NOT OPEN. But a pitiful child's voice comes from the bottle, begging to be let out; and Miss Moody, gruff sort though she is, ""could not stand hearing a child cry."" No sooner has she unstopped the bottle, however, than a big black cloud pours out and materializes into ""the biggest, ugliest creature she had ever seen."" Is Miss Moody afraid? Not on your life. Turning her back on the creature, she professes to fear only mice--""And you can't grow small like a little mouse."" That, of course, is just what the creature proceeds to do; whereupon Captain Kidd gobbles the mouse up. And, for a final fillip, Miss Moody's prized, seaborne clock is now ticking at last--just what she wished for and wouldn't tell the genie in the bottle. With turn-of-the-century-styled full-color illustrations, a steady pleaser that also offers a shuddery scare. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ages 4-6. Following a storm, Miss Moody and her cat find a bottle marked ``Do Not Open.'' When they ignore the advice, they let escape the biggest, ugliest creature ever seen.
