Leonardo, the Terrible Monster (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Mo Willems (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)

Leonardo is truly a terrible monster-terrible at being a monster that is. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to frighten anyone. Determined to succeed, Leonardo sets himself to training and research. Finally, he finds a nervous little boy, and scares the tuna salad out of him! But scaring people isn't quite as satisfying as he thought it would be. Leonardo realizes that he might be a terrible, awful monster-but he could be a really good friend.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 1–Leonardo is a terrible monster–terrible as in he can't scare anybody. He's not big, doesn't have hundreds of teeth, and isn't even weird. So one day he comes up with an idea: He would find the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world…and scare the tuna salad out of him! After much research, he chooses Sam, sneaks up on him, and [gives] it all he [has]. When the boy cries, Leonardo is convinced that he is a success. But Sam proceeds to recite a litany of wrongs that actually brought on his tears: My mean big brother stole my action figure right out of my hands…, and on and on. Leonardo makes a decision that is sure to surprise and delight readers. Willems's familiar cartoon drawings work hand in glove with the brief text to tell this perfectly paced story. It is printed on pastel grounds in large, fancy letters that change color for emphasis. Sam's list of woes marches across a spread. Leonardo, a small greenish-beige creature with tiny horns; blue eyes; and pink nose, hands, and feet, first appears in a lower right-hand corner looking dejected, but when he makes his momentous decision, his circular head fills two pages. His antics to produce a scare will have youngsters laughing, while the asterisk next to the number of monster Tony's teeth (*note: not all teeth shown) will have grown-ups chuckling, too. A surefire hit.–Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-K. "Your Pal, Mo Willems," as the cover reads, offers a simple message-driven story, elevated by a smart, striking design. Leonardo is supposed to be a terrible monster, but he's just terrible at his monsterly craft. Small, with big blue eyes, a blue tongue, and a furry body, Leonardo looks like a tiny, unassuming brother of a Wild Thing. He gets an idea: find the most "scaredy-cat kid" in the world and "scare the tuna salad" out of him. He finds Sam, who seems an easy mark and bursts into tears. But on a clever double-page spread, Willems lists the real reasons Sam is crying, starting with "My mean big brother stole the action figure out of my hands" and ending with a bird's pooping on Sam's head. After thinking it over, Leonardo decides to move from terrible monster to wonderful friend. This oversize book uses thick paper in the colors of a desert sunset. Sam and Leonardo take up very little room on the large pages; the old-fashioned lettering dominates the expanse of color. A winner for story hours, with plenty of discussion possibilities. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (August 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786852941
• ISBN-13: 978-0786852949
• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Values
  • #53 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Emotions & Feelings
  • #74 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Friendship

More About the Author

A three-time Caldecott Honor winner for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, Mo Willems has also won two Geisel Medals for There is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside? And his books are perennial New York Times bestsellers. Before he turned to children's books, Mo was a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards. Mo lives with his family in Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book by Mo Willems...!, November 26, 2005

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leonardo, the Terrible Monster (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) (Hardcover)

I'm a big, big fan of Mo Willems' last book, "Knuffle Bunny," and was equally delighted by this new picture book about a little monster named Leonardo who wants to be scary, but only seems cute. Leonardo decides to pick on Sam, a boy he determines is the most scaredy-cat kid in all the world, but after he succeeds in making Sam cry, Leonardo realizes he may have actually hurt the boy's feelings, and tries to make amends. A gentle parable about playground cruelty, this is also a beautifully laid-out book, with a bold, expansive use of empty space and clear, easily understood imagery. The serious emotional message is underplayed in favor of a playful tone, and will delight small children... You'll have a lot of fun trading "BOOS" with your kid after each reading. I enjoyed this one a lot, and it's frequently requested at storytime.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leonardo the Terrible Monster, August 24, 2005

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Stoupa "judytin" (Falls Church, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leonardo, the Terrible Monster (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) (Hardcover)

I'm visiting my grandchildren, Louis (5) and Katherine (2). I brought Leonardo along as a gift. In the three days since I arrived, we've read it at least 10 times. We love Leonardo, we love Sam, and we love this book!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "...And my book has been Maurice Sendakized.", February 26, 2007

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leonardo, the Terrible Monster (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Few authors have the panache shown by Mo Willems in his introduction written on the book cover:

"YOUR PAL MO WILLEMS PRESENTS"

followed by the book title, but Mr. Willems has a well-placed confidence in his rapport with kids. Willems somehow grasps the soul of a toddler, and his writing and pictures appeal to this age group at a very deep level. His writing and pictures are so tuned in that he seems like a real friend; a friendly, somewhat goofy friend that you want to keep.

Here he gets to an issue close to any youngster's heart--Monsters! KIds are afraid of the monster outside and (on another level) inside, and they frequent their nightmares and fantasy play. The always creative WIllems takes this fact and turns it inside out: What if there were a monster who was bad at what he did, who couldn't scare even the most timid "scaredy-cat?" Here, that cat is a "poor, unsuspecting" boy named Sam, shown in the lower lefthand corner of an otherwise blank 2-page spread). After woefully comparing himself to more scary monsters (which gives Willems a chance to draw a few), Leonardo vows to scare the "tuna salad" out of him. (This phrase is a surefire laugh magnet.) Leonardo succeeds in making Sam cry ("I did it! I've finally scared the tuna salad out of someone!"), but Sam makes other excuses for his tears in two-pages of crowded (and slightly difficult to read because of Willems' low contrast colors) testimony, including references to a stolen action figure, a stubbed toe, and a pooping cockatoo. Sam's list of bad times draws Leonardo's sympathy, and he decides that "instead of being a terrible monster, he would become a wonderful friend"--although he reserves the right to playfully scare Sam once in a while.

In his famous "Pigeon" series, Willems uses a minimalist illustration style that plays casual and easy. Here, he apes the "monster" designs of Maurice Sendak ("Where the WIld Things Are") either as homage or because he couldn't do better. I'll call it a tribute, because Willems also draws a monster that looks like it came out of "Yellow Submarine." He's also a master at typeface, putting catch phrases that require emphasis
(like "tuna salad") in contrasting font colors. In a side joke that adults will appreciate as much as kids, Willems draws "Tony," the monster with "1,642 teeth" and then asterisks it: "*NOTE: NOT ALL TEETH SHOWN." The humor is about as sophisticated as it gets with toddlers (one step up might be the great "Mr. Lunch" series). This is a surprisingly effective and touching story.