Another cute story this week! Lead your young reader into a guessing game through the pages of the book (note: ensure they don’t read the backmatter as it will give away that mystery – easily guessable though it is!).

I picked this book because Pfister’s Rainbow Fish has been a longtime favorite in our home from the time a friend gifted it to now-teen-adult when he turned one. And loved the illustrations, as well as the story. Reminiscent of other town-country mouse stories and yet with an unique humorous twist of its own, this book is one for rereading with your youngest readers! Bright, colorful, and quirky yet realistic illustrations provide a perfect complement to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy of the book.

I grew up with Rainbow Fish so when I saw that the same author had created another adorable kid's book, I snatched it up!

LEO'S MONSTER is the story of Leo, a little mouse, who goes to visit his friend, Zoe. Zoe warns Leo to watch out for any cats but while she's inside, Leo sees not a cat, but a monster! As he tries to describe this monster to Zoe, the descriptions get more and more eccentric and you can tell Zoe doesn't quite believe him.

My son and I giggled through this one because, wow, what a monster that would be! Of course, being a boy, he had to point out the "liquid poo, as big as a lake!". We had quite a few laughs throughout this book.

The illustrations are different than Rainbow Fish, but still very familiar. I loved the textured style so the pictures seemed to climb off the pages. This book is bright, colorful, and a lot of fun! Definitely one I recommend reading!

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

This was basically the retelling of the Country Mouse and City Mouse with a little bit of a twist. The illustrations were very cute and colorful. The story didn't bowl me over though.

My son loves anything to so with monsters and animals. This was a huge hit with him. Although the monster was the bigger hit. The pictures were bold and colourful and it was easy for him to follow and understand.

I enjoyed this children story of a mouse that goes to visit a friend. But on the way he meets different types of animals that he thinks are monster.The illustrations were cute too. It was fun trying to guess what the monsters might be.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

I really liked this book in its simplicity, and in its illustrations. The story of course is very innocent and fun for young children, but the textures that the illustrated paintings showed could also be a talking point with 1st or 2nd graders. I can't quite tell from the e-book but if the physical book actually has textures that you can feel then that will also add to the thrill of the story. The more interactive a book is, the more the children will connect and learn from the story. This book can also help introduce the idea of different points of view to young children. It seemed like the monster could be familiar to those who have seen cows, but the suspense could keep the kids guessing and trying to figure out the mystery of what the mouse saw.
All in all the book is a greatly narrated and illustrated tale of a mouse who learns about country side living.

<i>*Thank you to the publishers; NorthSouth Books, the author; Marcus Pfister, and Netgalley for my free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.</i>

The illustrations in this books are colorful, vibrant, and eye-catching. Children will have fun guessing what the monster is until it's actually revealed, and hearing the descriptions of the monster is funny to many children. For use in a classroom, this book would be a perfect starting point for a learning activity with kids where you describe something mundane and kids have to draw a "monster" that fits before you reveal the object.

This was such a fun book! It's entertaining to hear about this "monster" through Leo's perspective. I was surely chuckling throughout this book. The illustrations were incredible. I really liked the art style and the vibrant colors!

Thank you NetGalley and North South Books Inc. for gifting me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The illustrations in this are different than any kind I’ve seen in a children’s book before, but they are gorgeous! It’s a cute story that teaches children that we shouldn’t judge things when we first see them and that they may seem scary at first, but that we should learn more about who or what they are. It’s simply written and short, but I think children will really enjoy it.

I thought that this was a really nice little book and it has some lovely images that really suited the book.

The story was easy to follow and understand and I liked how Leo overcame his fears at the end too.

It is 4 stars from me for this one!

What a clever children's book with the right mix of whimsy, suspense, and life lesson. Leo the city mouse visits his friend Zoe in the countryside and he comes upon a creature he's never encountered before, a MONSTER! But Zoe knows it's just the farmer's cow Bertha.

Fun book with great illustrations and a little mystery. My 5 year old grandson liked it a lot even though we didn't have the physical book. I think he will enjoy it more when the book is available.

Mystery Revealed at the End

As a big fan of Sesame Street's The Monster at the End of This Book when I was a child, this book would have been right up my alley. City mouse Leo is visiting his friend Zoe in the country, but all he sees around him are monsters and scary, unfamiliar places. After a brief tour on his own while his friend bakes, he comes back to the house quite frightened by a monster he's discovered. The author very cleverly only shows bits and pieces of the “monster” as Leo describes it fearfully. We don't know until the end of the book what precisely Leo is seeing (though we can guess). Super fun and great for kids who have a natural curiosity and will try to figure out what the big “monster” is in this book as Leo (and the pictures) reveals more about it. The illustrations are finely detailed and well done. Super cute and fun. Highly recommended.

artwork is gorgeous. Story is quite short. Maybe a 2 minute read. I think it will look better in print than as a PDF, at least using the Adobe Digital Editions viewer, which can't show side-by-side pages.

Leo’s monster is a cute and silly story that I think children will enjoy. The illustrations were excellent and my favorite part of the book.

Thank you NetGalley and North South Books for this book in exchange for an honest review.

When you find a book that isn't like anything else you've seen, it has to be a great find. This is definitely one of those books. It'll make you smile & takes you on a fun animal adventure. Even the monster isn't one of the usual suspects. The main element that stands out is how the idea of scale is used to explore the words of different animals.
A fun read with plenty to talk about with the young reader with its attention-grabbing illustrations.

Leo is not used to being in the country, and he is scared of the big monster he encounters. The monster was not what I expected and I thought she was adorable. Leo's Monster is a fun and entertaining book for both kids & adults.

This story made me smile. It was nice to find it while you're in a bad mood or simply stressed. I can imagine it during storytelling time with action and props. I recommend it to kids or to parents and be told to their kids. It's the type of story that can put you in a really good mood.

Easy to read book with cute illustrations, a take on the traditional City Mouse, Country Mouse. The illustrations are colorful and fun. It's not a book I would have to have for our home library. I could see us checking it out from the library though.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

This is fun for children.

I totally enjoyed Leo, the city mouse, as he tries to describe the country “monster” to his country friend, Zoe. Leo describes the tail, the vicious-looking horns, the loud roar and the tongue that snatches the grass. I could hear the smile and amusement in Zoe’s response as he knows what and who the ‘monster’ is.

I have to admit that I didn’t fully read the description nor the back jacket and I am very glad that I didn’t. I suspected what animal the monster was and enjoyed getting to the reveal

The illustrations are bright and clear and the text is easy to read. I do think this is a fun, descriptive story to share with children. I can see the chance for parents to have fun with this and to use it for teaching to explain to a child the difference between city and country experiences. I recommend this to parents for use with children.

Source: 2019 NetGalley.