I Want To Be in a Scary Story

An offstage narrator talks to happy Little Monster, who has a big purple head, three stubby teeth, tiny horns, and wide yellow eyes. "'Hello, Little Monster. What do you want to do today?' 'Can I be in a story?'" Using dialogue distinguished by color (black for the narrator, purple for Little Monster), the two try to find just the right balance between funny and scary. "'I want to be in a SCARY story!' 'A funny story might be more fun.' 'Not for me, it won't be!'" With the turn of a page, Little Monster is inserted into a spooky forest with a dilapidated house complete with ghost rising from the chimney. "OH MY GOLLY GOSH!" says Little Monster, who finds this story a little too scary. After some soul-searching, Little Monster realizes it would be better to be the scary character in a story...but then becomes too frightened to scare whoever is behind a closed door. The solution? Yes, okay, a funny story (which also, it turns out, becomes a little scary for our narrator, to Little Monster's delight). The bold-hued, digitally colored ink illustrations, which are very funny in spite of being scary, work well with the chatty text to create a dynamic that leaves readers and listeners eager to engage with the story. julie roach