When a Monster is Born there are two possibilities....he can go off to be a monster who lives in the forest or he can become the monster who lives under your bed. And so it goes with one possibility creating another set of possibilities. The monster just keeps lurking around and you’re not sure what’s going to happen. But monsters are like that, aren’t they?

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“When a monster is born…there are two possibilities—either it’s a faraway-in-the-forest monster, or…” This delicious story follows the pattern of a traditional Brazilian poem the author heard during a party many years ago called, “When a baby is born.” It answers the wonderful question, “What if?” What if that baby was a MONSTER instead? Each decision point in this story leads to two other distinctly amazing possibilities! Everything about this book is fun; it’s a wonderful read for bedtime, especially for those children who are at the “there’s a monster under my bed” stage and who want to sleep with Mom and Dad! Nick Sharratt’s delightful illustrations—credited to children’s drawings from Great Tew Primary School—are colorful, detailed but not scary, and bright, sometimes against black backgrounds. No child could be scared of monsters under the bed after reading this truly delightful adventure. Even after the thrill of the first read wears off, children will beg to enjoy this story again with their favorite bedtime readers. In the classroom, this book could be used as an imaginative writing prompt or mentor text. Highly recommended.

Recommended by Shari Shaw, Librarian, Michigan, USA