MONSTER & SON

Monster parents aren’t all that different from human ones.

Each digitally rendered spread portrays a different type of monster, but collectively, they tell the tale of a day spent together. A Godzilla-like child wakes the parent “with a monstrous roar,” and it’s nonstop action from then on: from catch and tag (skeletons) and tickle fights (Frankenstein’s monsters) to running and fishing (creatures from the black lagoon) and noise-making (ghosts—each with four eyes). “The secret hideout that we built / was awesome to behold. // My face turned red with laughter / from the silly jokes you told.” Two bigfoots grab a snack (much to two campers’ dismay), and a wolf parent with two cubs observe the rising moon (and a girl in a red cape). A mummy parent chases the child into bed, a colossal ape gives hugs (a real helicopter clutched in the child’s hand like a toy), and a vampire bat gently folds the child’s wings. The creepy and silly balance each other out, though readers will likely agree that being a human in this monster world might be precarious. Though the title indicates that this is a book about monster dads and their sons, nothing in the illustrations spells out gender, and the text, first person from the parent’s point of view, says “son” only once (and though that is a necessary word for the end rhyme, it could so easily be changed to “one”).

Monstrous good fun to share with your own favorite beast.