“On the outside Bernadette was mostly monsterly. / She lurched. / She growled. / She caused mayhem of all kinds.” Bernadette also likes to pick flowers, stroke kittens “and bake. / For a monster Bernadette was just a little too sweet.” And when she starts school, this sweetness causes problems. How can she reconcile her penchant for group hugs and cupcakes with sprinkles with the imperatives of monsterness? Sauer’s turnabout story of a square peg trying to fit into a round hole isn’t particularly new, but her telling, with just the right amount of repetition and sophisticated vocabulary planted in simple sentences, is winning. Magoon’s monster-hued cartoons pay a little homage to Sendak but also revel in such details as prep-school uniforms and a Monster Moves Class with yoga mats and monster-themed hydration bottles—and Bernadette’s a fanged, horned charmer. (Picture book. 5-8)
