Primary Genre(s): Children’s Fiction, Picture Book
Published: 29 July 2020 by Amazon Digital Services
Page count: 19
My Format: eBook
Cover: Cute
Pacing: Okay
Ending: Okay
Would I recommend it: Maybe
Commission Link: Buy The Monster Who Came to Visit
My rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis
In this humorous, rhyming story a little girl’s attempts to befriend a monster lead from one disaster to the next. All is not lost though as this unlikely pair may have more in common than you think.
My Thoughts
I really enjoy children’s books and I have reviewed several recently. This particular book was free on Amazon the other day so I decided to give it a shot. The book has a 4.64 rating on Goodreads (11 total ratings), but I am sad to report I do not agree with those reviewers. Here are my pros and cons for The Monster Who Came to Visit:
Pros
- Cute illustrations by Nooshin Behyan.
- It is written in verse and I think kids will enjoy the rhythm.
- This book is targeted to children ages 3 to 8 and I think it definitely falls right into that age group.
Cons
- The message is supposed to be acceptance and understanding of others, but I don’t think the story makes that point very well. The book has a Monsters, Inc. feel to in that it tried to depict that monsters are afraid of the same things humans are afraid of. However, I personally didn’t feel like that message got across clearly in this particular story. The monster comes to the girl’s house, destroys her things, frightens the cat and dog, and draws on the walls… and at the end of the day the monster is afraid of the dark. So the little girl decides “he is really just like me”. Therefore, in essence, the girl behaves like a monster? This girl is a monster? Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I just found myself at the end of the book going, huh?
Summary
I understand this is supposed to be a book about acceptance, and that is a fine message for children. I’m just not sure that this book is the one to read if you want to convey that message to your kids. If the story had focused on facing her fear of monsters, and understanding that sometimes the things we fear aren’t really scary after all, then that is a better message in my opinion. I think this book tried to address both of those messages (instead of focusing on just one) and ended up losing them both in the process.
If you would like to read this book and form your own opinion, please consider purchasing through this link: Buy The Monster Who Came to Visit. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
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(image from Goodreads)
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