Oh me oh my we are reading children’s books about Monsters all month and I am super excited to start sharing!
This month’s A Read A Day challenge was chosen by YOU GUYS! I’m super excited about that too. I loved all of the ideas and how excited you guys were to vote for your favorite theme.
I doubt I would have picked monsters any time soon. It’s not something by kids have ever really gotten into, but I’m still super excited because there are tons of fantastic, hilarious, thought provoking and just great children’s books about monsters.
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Monstrous Book Challenge
Monster books are full of creative story lines and a huge variety in the depiction of monsters from a range of illustrators.
Featured Author / Illustrator: Ed Emberley
There are so many fantastic children’s book authors and illustrators and knowing the ones you love is liking finding a good friend. You trust their work. You turn to them for laughs or a good story.
Author Studies are a valuable tool for children. You can read the basics in this concise post from Teaching with Children’s Books.
I encourage you to dig deep with this author during our reading challenge this month as we learn more about Monsters.
Ed Emberley
I feel like Go Away Big Green Monster has become one of those classics that almost everyone has read. It is fun and creative and a book everyone feels like they have to pull out every Halloween and I don’t blame them at all. It’s awesome.
However, Ed Emberley actually has an impressive list of published work that often gets overlooked. Not all of them are about monsters, but for the purposes of this challenge I do want to share that he has some other fun books about monsters that are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. He also has great concept books about colors, shapes, etc.
One of our favorites is Nighty, Night Little Green Monster which is much the same as Go Away Big Green Monster but has a more gentle and cute feel to it.
Learn More at: EdEmberley.com
Also Read: Ultimate Halloween Story Time Idea Round Up
10+ Awesome Children’s Books about Monsters
There are hundreds of children’s books about monsters. I tried to help narrow down for you the really great ones – but I should also say that my kids tend to be a little skiddish about scary things so these are also tending towards the NOT scary monster stories.
1. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
I had to start with this classic because it truly is one of the greatest examples of a children’s book to this day. It gets held up all the time in children’s lit classes because Sendak did SO many things right. The pacing. The illustrations. It’s awesome. You probably already know and love this one, but it’s a wonderful start for a monster reading party.
2. Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
I think it is sweet little Leonardo that just yanks on those heart strings that I love so much about this story. Leonardo is a terrible monster and decides to pick on the weakest kid he can find. He learns a good lesson and makes an even better friend. There is so much emotion and heart in this story – something I think we’ve come to love about all of Willems’ books.
3. Bo The Brave by Bethan Woollvin
Little Bo wants to go hunt monsters with her brothers. When they tell her she’s too small she sets off on her own determined to prove them wrong. She finds some creatures that on the outside look quite monstrous but when she looks more closely she realizes that things aren’t always what they originally appear. A less obvious “monster” book but such a bright, feisty, fun one.
4. That’s Not the Monster We Ordered by Richard Fairgray, Tara Black, Terry Jones
When the Turner family orders their very own monster the entire neighborhood is in awe of its impressive size and helpfulness. After begging and rationalizing and pleading, the main characters get their own monster only to be disappointed by a seemingly defective model. Full of imagination and playful antics, this is the kind of silly book you will want to read again and again to make sure you caught all the jokes and funny details throughout the illustrations.
5. Jumpy Jack & Googily by Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall
This is just such a cute story. I love the character choices and the way they were illustrated. I love the relationship between the two characters. I love the discussion of fears because we all have them – even snails and monsters.
You May Also Like: Dragon Storytime for Preschoolers
6. Tickle Monster by Edouard Manceau
If you like Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly and you like interactive books then this is the one for you. Kids are encouraged to tickle different parts of the monster’s body to turn it into something else. The last pages tell the monster that if he returns, the child will just tickle him away again.
7. Have You Seen My Monster? by Steve Light
Steve Light is one of my favorite author/illustrators and we LOVE Have You Seen My Dragon? so I was super excited when this one came out. Each page invites you to search for the monster at a scene from the county fair. I love the simple drawings with pops of colors. And where the Dragon book focused on numbers, this one helps kids learn shapes from common to very not as they search the pictures.
8. Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett illustrated by Kevan J. Atteberry
This is not one you want to read as a bedtime story but it is cute. The Tickle Monster (who is completely adorable and not at all scary) arrives from the planet Tickle. He is of course here to tickle you. A fun one to read one on one with your kid.
9. This Monster Cannot Wait! by Bethany Barton
My kids found this one hysterical. No kids like to wait, ever, for anything and this monster totally gets that. I love the ways he tries to hurry along all this waiting. Clever and relate-able.
10. There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher and illustrated by Greg Abbott
11. The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone illustrated by Michael Smollin
Similarly titled to the one above but this one has been around FOREVER. This has been a favorite in our house for years. My kids still think it’s hilarious at almost 7 and then loved it when they were toddlers. It is a fun one to read aloud to a group as well. For younger kids or kids who are afraid of monsters, I like to share the surprise ending with them so that they are in on the joke the whole way through.
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