BooksforTopics Reading for Pleasure Recommendations
Book Title: Hello, Monster (available here)
Author: Clémentine Beauvais
Illustrator: Maisie Paradise Shearing
Publisher: Thames and Hudson
Publication Date: October 2018
Most Suitable for: KS1
Reviewed By: Kathryn Gilbert, Deputy Headteacher
This in an interesting story that takes the reader on an unusual and unpredictable journey.
The story begins with the introduction of a young boy in a park who is told to go and play with a child by his mother. The boy is reluctant as he does not know the other child. He recalls the perils of talking to strangers and considers how the child could actually be a monster in disguise!
The story then takes a strange twist by imaginatively exploring what would happen if the ‘monster’ pulled the boy into his secret cave under the sand pit, where he would meet other children who have also been captured. The boy explains what living with the monster is like, from having pet moles to cooking horrible, slimy dinners.
At this point, the story takes another imaginative twist with the children plotting to escape from the monster. They dig a tunnel through to the surface but end up in the panther enclosure of a zoo. Luckily for the children, the panther does not like the taste of humans but prefers fresh monster meat instead! Once the monster is defeated, images the boy, the children would help the panther escape and get home on a train.
The story ends where it begins. The children return home and the young boy reflects that if this did all really happen, his mum would learn a valuable lesson and not make him play with people he does not know or want to know…just in case they are a monster!
The plot is unusual and unique and will keep readers guessing right up until the very last page. Children would find so many elements of this story funny and imaginative.
Curriculum Links: PSHE/Stranger Danger
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You can order Hello, Monster online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Kathryn Gilbert for reviewing the book.
