Monday, September 24, 2012

The Monsters' Monster


I enjoy a good holiday book.  Polar Express, Room on the Broom. When children's enthusiasm is brimming over it is so fun to pull out a book centered on their excitement.  This is not that book.  It's even better because it is not a holiday book - it is a book that can be enjoyed year round.  But it is about monsters.  And who doesn't love to read about Monsters at Halloween?

Patrick McDonnell's The Monsters' Monster is a charming tale of three monsters  - Tiny Grouch, Grump and Gloom 'n' Doom.  The three monsters argue over who is the best and scariest monster but when they can't come to a conclusion they combine forces to create "the biggest, baddest  monster EVER!"  The monster they create is reminiscent of Frankenstein - he is enormous with a square green head complete with pins sticking out. He is a big monster but not the scary monster they hoped for.  He is polite, and nice, and his catch phrase is "Dank you!"

In McDonnell's signature cartoon style it is fun to see the relationship between the three small, but big, bad loving monsters and the imposing, yet kind, Frankenstein-esque monster.  This is a read you don't want to miss, especially with Halloween knocking on our door.

UPDATE:

I just got my hands on the e-book version of The Monsters' Monster.  I would definitely say that I am still a paper and ink kind of girl.  But I have to admit there are some perks to the portability of the e-book.  And my kids love to get their hands on an ipad.  The e-version of The Monsters' Monster is the same great tale and illustrations with the addition of simple enhancements and movements that correlate with the text.  They are not over the top and do not take away from the book.  But probably my (and my kids) favorite part of the e-book was the read aloud option - it was animated and brought the story off the screen and to life.

I received a review copy of this book, but all opinions are my own.

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