Monsters Aren't Real

K-Gr 2—A lumpy monster that resembles a grizzly bear with turquoise splotches hears that monsters are not real. Confused, he attempts to prove his existence by writing "Monsters are real" and posting pictures of himself on public spaces. In a series of wordless spreads, he tries to scare children at a dance class and a birthday party, but they don't even notice him. A boy playing Pong does not react to the monster as it jumps out from behind the TV screen. The monster presents an octopus to a fisherman, juggles cows in a field, and uproots a tree in front of a mother and her baby, but doesn't frighten any of them. When he sees that someone has marked over his graffiti to read "Monsters aren't real," he slumps down sadly and gives up. Then a short, black, nasty-looking character enters the scene. "What? No! Don't be silly," he says. With the first monster in tow, he stomps off saying, "We're two big, strong, scary monsters, and we'll prove it. Monsters are real. REALLY." Readers can look at this story in a few different ways. Is the main character trying to scare people, but is not succeeding because he isn't terrifying enough? Or because the people are too self-absorbed to notice him? Should we feel sad for him because he is being ignored? Or is this a book to reassure children that monsters don't exist so there is no reason to be afraid of them? Some children may see this as a fun story about a goofy-looking monster, but the dark, ambiguous ending leaves matters open for discussion.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT