Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters

PreS-Gr 1—A whimsical bedtime story to share again and again. Yolen's rhythmic, sometimes repetitive verse is perfectly matched by Murphy's double-page illustrations. Children will enjoy the contrast of a familiar routine with a cast of bright-eyed and animated monsters. After making their way home from school, two monster children eat dinner, play inside, bathe, pray, and go to bed, reluctantly at first. However, their attempts to keep each other awake with funny noises and silly games eventually prove futile. Through the text and pictures, the mundane machinations are brought to life with humorous and charming details. Background colors fade from light to dark as the sun goes down, and the light at home is less bright but warmer than that of the sun. Descriptions grow shorter and more specific until the only words are the noises the youngsters make as they go to sleep. As monster stories go, this one is ultimately more sweet than scary. Pair it with James Otis Thach's The Tickle Monster Is Coming (Bloomsbury, 2008) for a storyhour or recommend it as a bedtime book. A first choice for any library serving sweet, silly little monsters.—Heather Talty, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City