HELLO WORLD!

Mrs. Mo’s Monster (2014), he of the snaggly teeth, spiky blue fur, and lolling pink tongue, is still in the attic.

As the book begins, Mr. and Mrs. Mo are painting the outside of their house from white to red and so cannot amuse the monster, who announces that he’s “off to see the world.” He sets out carrying a good deal of the stuff from the attic, refusing Mrs. Mo’s offer to make him a sandwich. As he goes along, however, he gets lost in a sea of obstacles to navigate and begins to have a meltdown—but Mrs. Mo turns up, with the sandwich and a few more things from home. It all resolves in a satisfying way: the monster gets to see a view of his whole world (and so does the intrepid Mrs. Mo), and Mr. Mo, painting complete, just sort of scratches his bald head in bemusement. The monster definitely has the toddler ethos down pat, and the white-haired Mo couple is quite good at responding to it. The art is done in clear blocks of color and shape, and children of all ages will be amused by what the monster chooses to take along and leave behind of the cozy detritus (tea kettle, golf clubs, globe, etc.) in the attic.

A calmly surreal invitation to explore.