Customer Reviews

A Monster is Hiding/El Monstruo Escondido (Spanish Edition)

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A Monster is Hiding/El Monstruo Escondido is a charming story of a child who fears that a monster is hiding under her bed. The illustrations are unique in that the illustrator chose to bring the child directly into the world of the story with a cut-paper, watercolor, and photograph collage using photos of an actual child.

The creatures that the child first imagines under her bed are angular, with large menacing mouths and sharp claws. Their bodies are made from the same patterns as the bedding, suggesting that the monsters are the imaginings of the child seeing various shadows and shapes in the dim light of her bedroom. As the story progresses and the child confronts her fear, the angles and colors soften. The real monster is kind and more human in aspect, and therefore is nothing for the child (or anyone else) to fear. This also suggests that dreams can be molded and controlled by the dreamer--resulting in happy dreams rather than nightmares.

Another aspect of this book is its Spanish-English bilingual presentation. With the engaging story, it also presents a comfortable vocabulary that assists a parent in teaching a second language to their child. This kind of book is a marvelous opportunity to introduce a different language while children are still in their language forming stage--where the introduction of a second language is both natural and easily learned. (It can also help parents who are also learning a second language, whether English or Spanish.)

I really like the direction the author uses to involve children to read, not only in English but as well in Spanish. It just gives kids that extra education they need.

This book invoked some great conversation with my children. They thoroughly enjoyed the read. I am pleased that someone has written a book like "A Monster is Hiding". It has helped them with their understanding of other cultures.

This book contains all the elements in transformation of childhood fears and illustrates what power children have in creating their world. The illustrations are beautifully done and the writer has created a story which captures a childs wildest imagination. What makes it most unique is the usage of Spanish and English in teaching children both languages. This has the potential to break down cultural barriers before they are formed. A Fabulous achievement!

Doug Daugherty

The Midwest Book Review says; "A Monster Is Hiding/El Monstruo Escondido is a splendid and bilingual (English/Spanish) book designed for preschool children and effectively deals with the common childhood fear of monsters under the bed, in the closet, or simply lurking in the shadows. Effective full page illustrations are accompanied by an English and spanish text that is ideal for parental bedtime read alouds."