I loved this. I could actually just enjoy this illustrator making a book and me just admiring it. The story was really cute as well

Gosh, this book's cover is so friggin' cute. I absolutely <em>adored</em> reading Annie Sarac's <em>My Monster Friends and Me</em>. Illustrated by Alice Bereton, this is a clever and cute commentary on all the various aspects of life that, without context, can seem incredibly scary and how shining just a little light on it all makes everything turn out to be not so scary after all. I was really only afraid of things in the dark--and the depths of the ocean--when I was a kid, so I don't know how much this would have resonated with me then, but as an adult I am quite fond of the message of knowledge can make frightening things less scary.

<b>A fearful child.</b>

A young kid who lives his life basically scared of everything takes readers on a journey to experience the most frightful fears alongside him. There's that creature behind the fence with the loud scary voice and the monster outside his window late in the night. But they turn out, instead, to be simple things that aren't so scary after all once the narrator has the time to develop an extended knowledge about them. The neighbor's dog is actually very friendly and the darkness outside is just hiding the tree that's beautiful during the day.

I found this story incredibly adorable with a wonderful message, that which says that not everything is as scary as it may first seem. It's natural for kids to find the unknown scary and I love how this book promotes developing knowledge about the things that one does find frightening. In the case of this book, that extra knowledge helped the main character to overcome many of his fears. For others, it might help them to ascertain what makes a fear reasonable.

<b>The Artwork</b>

This book has some of the cutest illustrations I've seen in a children's book. I adore Bereton's style and especially love the way some of the monsters are made to look cute as well as scary. You see this even in the cover, with that absolutely adorable dog-like dragon creature. The entire book is like this, working to make the scary things less frightening by adding a cute element to it.

Ultimately, I'm definitely a fan of this book, its message, and the artwork.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

This was a pretty good story. The journey the main character took readers on was both fun and exciting. You see all kinds of frightening looking things, then you find out they might not be that scary after all. A few of these creatures end up being something else entirely. This is a book I can see most kids having a lot of fun reading.

Another problematic rhyming book with good potential and great illustrations. I applaud the effort at a book to calm a frightened child. (Wasn't the little boy supposed to be 8? He looked like he was already shaving.)

Delightful illustrations abound in this little book. I’ll received an advanced egalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Great illustrations and and rhyming story about facing fears and how the best way to overcome those fears is to face them and name them.

"When I was young I had many fears,
like darkness or storms in the sky.
But then I learned when you meet your monsters,
you can make them friends if you try!"

Many children face a variety of fears every day in their lives. They can be frightened of the dark, of monsters in their room at bedtime when the lights go out, creepy shadows that seem to take on a life of their own, loud booming unfamiliar noises... and the list goes on and on and on.

This rhyming book encourages young readers to name their fears and make their own personal monsters their friends. The main character of the story, an eight year old boy, gives advice as to how to get the fearful imaginary creatures that are conjured up in his imagination under control.

The first monster he exposes to the reader lives on the other side of his white picket fence.

"The first scary monster
on the other side of the fence
made me shiver and cry
And my muscles grow tense."

Oh my! As you read on you discover that the monster, with a deep snarly howl, sharp teeth and nails and three tails is really a darling sweet terrier. The relieved boy gives her the name... KATE! The boy then confesses that he is terrified of shadows and monsters outside his bedroom window that bang and rumble and cause havoc against his window pane. The most fierce monster that terrifies him the most could be residing in his closet right in his bedroom. And what about under his bed? They seem to be everywhere!

Each of the fears that the boy discloses first appears as a scary foreboding bogyman but when you thumb on through the next few pages you find out that there is no need to be worried one bit because what the little boy has conjured up in his imagination is not reality at all. The real characters are happy, friendly and fun.

This book is a great way to spark conversations about fear and what monsters might be lurking inside your child's imagination. Unmasking how to deal with that anxiety by naming them and then reimagining them as friendly is a wonderful thing to do. The illustrations are bright, colourful, full of action and detailed. "My Monster Friends and Me" can be a terrific help in defusing fears and anxiety in your child before the lights are turned off at bedtime. I recommend this book.

Once again, my monster loving granddaughter wanted me to read this to her. She watches a short children's video about a brother and sister who think monsters are everywhere but they turn out to be everyday things, so this storyline was very similar to her. She liked this story and kept guessing what the "monster" really was. She enjoyed this story and this was another one that she had me read a couple of times. When she asks for a reread right away, I know I have a winner. This is another that I will buy when it is published. Fortunately, her birthday is in the new year. The illustrations were very eye catching and were an integral part of the story.

What a beautiful book with colorful and dramatic illustrations. There's a good message here for kids who are afraid of the dark and of the monsters that seem to lurk within that dark. Written in rhyme, children will learn that it is possible to befriend their "monsters" and even give them names. Things are not always what they seem, and given a closer look, they might realize that what was scary is not so scary after all.

There is potentially great conversation that will result from reading this book, and it can begin with an unlikely cover that suggests that "monsters" just might end up being friends!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

#netgalley #mymonsterfriendsandme

*thank you to Netgalley, SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky and Annie Sarac for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*


3 stars.

I'm in two minds about this one. On one side I'm thinking that this is a great tip for children who are afraid of the monsters living in the shadows of the night or broad daylight, to name the monster which, hopefully, will take some of the fear away. I can see how that would work.

But. On the other side of my mind I had been reading this through my inner child and the first thing she said to me, in alarm, was, 'I didn't know monsters were hiding there!!' This for me was a fail obviously as others could also think this way, which would cause a problem.

So you see my issue. While this book will work for some, it's got it's limitations. Which is fine. We all know the classic saying, 'Not all books are for everyone' and this is a perfect example of that.

If this book helps even a handful of children with fears of strange noises and shadows and what not, then it's a success.

One other sort of negative, sort of positive, is the illustrations. Im really on the fence with them. They aren't really for me but in a strange way, if I twist my eyes around and upside down, I can make out that they do in fact match the storyline and message this book sends. So I guess for that reason I would give them a tick.

Helping children deal with their demons! So many books... But this one's cute and I think young kids who suddenly fear the monsters in their closets, under their beds, in the attics and basements, might just find some comfort in this story. Nicely rhymed, too! The illustrations were not too scary, but invited close observation to see what the creatures.

I have received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is adorable with a great message. about facing fears because they might not be what you think they are. The pictures were colorful. I think this would be a great storytime book. I highly recommend it.

What My Kids Thought:
The illustrations in this book were so fun and the kids just loved it! I wasn't able to turn the page until they had fully absorbed every detail! They were very interested in the idea of naming our monsters so they are not scary anymore. We talked about this quite a bit after we finished the book, so the idea did stick with them for a while!
What I Thought:
This book does a great job of giving children a tool to overcome their fears. It is discussed multiple times to help them remember what they can do. The illustrations were really great. I was even looking at them extra long just to take in all the details! The rhymes are times, a bit disjointed, but we forgave that because the book was so fun!

A young boy goes through some of the monsters in his life, which are just what every little kid is scared of, a shadow, a monster under the bed, etc. He shows us that if we confront them and give them a name, they won't be scary anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Sourcebooks Kids for providing this ARC to me in exchange for my honest review.

At first I didn't like the book because of the rhyme. It seemed a little forced. Then I really liked that the first monster was just a dog. I thought that the rest of the monsters would either be animals or everyday objects. I envisioned the kids in my storytime trying to figure out what the monster actually was. Then I got to the next monster, which was just a shadow. I'm not even sure what the monster under the bed or the monster in the basement was. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

"When I was young. I had many fears, like darkness or storms in the sky. But then I learned when you meet your monster, you can make them friends if you try!"
This is a wonderful story and guide for children to face their fears, of darkness or stroms, etc, and overcome them. The author and illustrator paints a picture of these intangible things that we are afraid of as real breathing monsters for the main character. The best part is that even though he is scared at first, once he overcomes them, then he has new physical friends to face any other fears that come his way. This is a wonderful book for children! Even I'm still scared as an adult!
#Meetmymonsters #Netgalley

My Monster Friends and Me is an interesting take on a monster book. It features a young protagonist introducing the reader to the monsters (fears) in and around his home. He tells us that he used to be scared of them till he named them and now they are friends not foes. I've never seen a monster or fear/anxiety book for kids like this and I really like it. The rhymes are bit clunky at times but the concept it great and the illustrations are very bright and vibrant. This would make a great conversation starter for a fearful kiddo and provide them with a new coping mechanism to try.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Brilliantly storybook ta book who learns to overcome his fear of monsters by naming and befriending them. Great book for kids afraid of the dark!

My Monster Friends and Me was a perfect book for helping children recognize that they are in control of their fears by giving them a name. While I think some of the illustrations would be a bit scary for younger readers, I found this book to be incredibly beneficial for children dealing with worry and fear in general.

While I appreciate what this book is trying to do, I don't think it's going to work for every child. I doubt it would have worked for me; in fact, it probably would've made things worse.

The basic premise is that each thing that scares the narrator--whether it's the neighbour's dog, thunder and lightning, or shadows--is turned into a monster and then vanquished by giving it an innocuous name and imagining it as friendly. This might work for some kids, but I have a feeling that I would've just ended up with more problems. It wouldn't have occurred to me to imagine my fears as tangible monsters in the first place, but if I had, I might've gotten stuck on that point... and then had a fear of monsters to deal with on top of everything else. (I had--still have, really--a worrier's imagination. If I'd tried to turn some of my fears into monsters, I likely would have scared myself!)

If getting rid of fears were really that easy, a book like this would be all that it takes. I have my doubts, however, whether really entrenched phobias would benefit from this sort of thing. I mean, you can tell a child to call that massive spider in the corner Bill, but it's still a spider and naming doesn't change its potential for harm or its creepiness. In fact, some of the monsters in this book are things kids should be wary about in certain situations. There's a big difference between a lightning storm and the imaginary monster under the bed; one can actually kill you, after all.

The illustrations don't really excite me. The monsters are creative, but the style of drawing is kind of blocky and impressionistic. It works for the monsters in that it makes them really creepy... but in a book about dispelling fears, I'm not sure if that's the best thing.

Overall, this was a bit of a disappointment. The basic premise is okay as long as it's dealing with some of the weird, harmless fears children have (like shadows and monsters under the bed). But I'm not really a fan of books that teach children to take things like aggressive dogs and thunderstorms lightly. There are some fears that are completely reasonable, and they're there to keep us safe.

An amazingly beautiful book about facing your fears. The storyline has a beautiful message and the illustrations are stunning.