Customer Reviews

Happy Monster Day! (Read with Me Cartwheel Books (Scholastic Paperback))

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My son likes this book a lot, he wants me to say here. He says it's silly. I like it because it has an underlying message about appreciating the little things in life: a safe home, a pet, hugs/kisses, clean clothes, etc.

ISBN 0439067537 - Printed in the U.S.A. Mistakenly stuck away among the Halloween books, Happy Monster Day surfaced today and turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It's got nothing to do with Halloween! In a pinch, it might serve for that day, for children who aren't ready for scary stories, but it's a good all-year-round book, too.

Mac Monster feels a bit deprived. Mom has Mother's Day, Dad has Father's Day and Mac... Mac only has a birthday. Of course, both of his parents have birthdays, too, so they each have two days to his one. To make up for that, Mac announces that tomorrow will be Monster Day (not at all seeing that Mr and Mrs Monster would, then, have a third day). When he wakes up, he finds that his parents haven't forgotten. A note on his door has a message for him, with one word missing. It says "Go to the kitchen and have a seat. Mom left something good for you to _ _ _." Mac goes to the kitchen, certain his gift will be there. All he finds is breakfast - and the missing word! EAT! More notes follow and Mac follows the notes until, eventually, he is back in his room, where a surprise awaits. Mac is so happy with the way his Monster Day as turned out that he asks for two more gifts: a hug and a kiss!

Until the end of the book, I was a little concerned about the greedy message it might send, but author Joan Holub never goes there. While Mac is hoping for a gift throughout, he's thrilled when he finds, for example, his laundry, and equally happy to figure out the missing words in the notes his parents leave for him. This conveys a message about appreciating what you have, including your family, and parents will appreciate that. The intended audience is 4 to 7 year olds, who will find Mac and his made up holiday fun and funny and the simple missing word games a novelty. No illustrator is named, so it might be Holub. The illustrations are amusing, with some Addams Family style touches that kids will like.

- AnnaLovesBooks