Are You My Monster?

Reviews

From SLJ, On the Boardwalk: Our picks for the best board books of the season
A young boy needs to find the monster in his drawing before he can go to sleep. Little ones will enjoy the parade of silly creatures he checks against his drawing, while also learning colors and matching. The sweet ending shows that even those with sharp teeth and scratchy claws can be cuddly, turning the monster-under-the-bed trope on its head.

From Tome Tender
4 stars – Are You My Monster is about a little boy who is searching for his favorite monster. He has drawn a picture of his monster and is comparing the monsters he finds with the monster of his drawing. It was well written, colorfully illustrated and encourages children to compare things, with even though they may be similar do they match concept. 
Are You My Monster creates a playful adventure any young child would love to explore.

From Bookworm for Kids, Tonja Drecker
This is such a cute and fun read!
Ethan makes a drawing of his monster. After all, only one monster is the monster for him. One by one, the monsters appear, and Ethan goes down his checklist to see if they are the one he’s looking for. Sharp teeth, a long tale, green and… some criteria are met. Others not. As the monster go by and none seem to fulfill his entire list, the question of whether or not he’ll ever find his monster arises.
Not only are the monster super sweet (in a scary, monstery way, of course), but the check list is something readers are sure to enjoy. Every two-page spread has a monster on one side, and Ethan and his list on the other. It’s a simple concept and that’s exactly what makes it fun. Young listeners will easily be sucked into Ethan’s search and join in as each aspect of the monster is explored.
The illustrations are bright and bring across the right atmosphere. Each monster packs their own personality, and young readers are sure to find their own personal favorites. They’ll probably want a monster of their own too.

From Seattle’s Child, Sydney Parker
My toddler doesn’t know if she wants to wear pants today, but she definitely wants “more monster.” The new board book Are You My Monster?, by Spanaway author, teacher and mother of four Amanda Noll, is a big hit in our house with the under-2 crowd.
The story follows a little boy named Ethan as he compares a drawing of his monster to a series of spectacular real-life monsters. Are their teeth big or small? Do the colors match? Is the tail long or short? Illustrated by Howard McWilliam, a children’s book artist who doubles as the cover artist of the magazine The Week, the fantastic monsters inspire even the most timid of readers to invent characters and read aloud in silly voices.

From Jean Little Library, Jennifer Wharton
Flashlight takes two of its most popular properties – Amanda Noll’s Monster series and Jodi Moore’s Dragon titles – and takes them down to board book audiences.
I was initially very skeptical about this. Both are illustrated by Howard McWilliam and while his digital pictures are bright and attractive, they’re also kind of scary! This is perfect for the picture book audiences who love to giggle over the gruesome monsters and the cute twist of the ending, but how well would it go over with babies and toddlers? It turns out that these authors and illustrator have done an excellent job making these both appealing and appropriate for little ones.
Amanda Noll’s Are You My Monster? introduces the unnamed little boy of the picture books as a toddler in his pajamas, with an oversized head and big brown eyes. The story gets around the scary monster aspect by introducing the monster as a picture. The little boy is searching for his monster and uses the checklist to compare other monsters – a green dandy with mustaches, fluffy red creature with four eyes, hairy blue monster with a big tongue, and so on. Eventually, he finds his own monster, giving a toothy grin. The next page shows the little boy leaning over the bed, with his monster as a small stuffed toy and the last spread shows them cuddled up in bed together. Although some kids might get upset by the monsters, the “just a toy” ending should reassure them. The story also teaches kids comparison as they mark off the list for each monster! This book is a nice 7×7 size.
Verdict: For parents and little ones who like the colorful pictures of McWilliam’s and just a little frisson of adventure and fear, these will be the perfect choices for snuggling up at bedtime.

From The Story Monsters Ink Shelf, Darleen Wohlfeil
I’ve come to love the illustrations of Howard McWilliam. They are so colorful and captivating. They add an extra level of wonder and creativity to every story. This early educational concept of matching and awareness will engage children with delight. While they try to help search out just the right monster, they are learning important classification skills that help them to identify same or similar objects based on common properties. This earliest concept prepares and develops logical thinking, and basic early math skills while having fun. (Ages 2-5)

About the Creators

Amanda Noll is the author of the award-winning I Need My Monster series, She lives in Spanaway, Washington with her husband and children. The monster under her bed is named Gertie.

You can find out more about Amanda and her work on her website. 

Howard McWilliam is the award-winning illustrator of the When a Dragon Moves In and I Need My Monster series, along with dozens of children’s picture books. He is the cover artist of The Week (US & UK), and he lives with his wife and three sons in Cheltenham, England. The monster under his bed is named Brompton.
You can find out more about Howard and his work on his website. 

ISBN: Board Book 9781947277328  ePDF 9781947277410  EPUB 9781947277427  KF8 9781947277434  Audiobook 9781947277823  Read-along Audio 9781947277670
Print Length: 26 Pages
Publication Date: Spring 2019 
Age Group: 0-3
Lexile Display: AD190L

Word Count: 261
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019908239

Activity Guides & More

THEMES: creativity, imagination, facing fears, humor, Halloween

• Monster finger puppets
• Monster Music

Leveling Information

Lexile Measurements provided by Metametrics. Guided Reading Levels provided by Marla Conn using Fountas and Pinnel Guided Reading Text Characteristics.

Lexile Display: AD190L

Word Count: 261

MSL: 5.553

MLF: 3.786

Decoding Display: Medium

Semantic Display: Medium

Syntactic Display: Low

Structure Display: Low

Guided Reading Level: H

Grade Level Equivalent: 1

Interest Level by Grade: Pre-K-K

Educational Description: Board book, First My Monster Story

Story Elements: setting plot and character development, Point of view- young boy main character, simple language, characteristics of monsters, adjectives, ask and answer questions, repeated lines, detailed illustrations enhance meaning and tone

Comprehension Strategies: make inferences, draw conclusions, compare and contrast monsters and books written about the same characters, by the same author

Themes: monsters