Member Reviews

Such a cute story for little ones. The monster is trying to scare the little girl and dog. The dog is scared and love the reactions!! The girl isn’t scared no matter what monster does. The monster is upset that no one is scared of him until the little girl gives him a hug! Love does make the world go around!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review!

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

This was cute. Nice illustrations. Fun for smaller kids.

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I am Scary is another cute book by Elise Gravel. Give to students that enjoy funny, but heartwarming books. The colors Gravel chose to use when creating this book are perfect.

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Authors love monsters trying to be scary. I suppose the idea is to take a thing that kids typically fear and tame it. The progression here is very step by step, guiding the reader through visual interpretation. It's a good one for building the basics of that skill.

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Monster just wants to be scary, but Kid isn't scared. Even when Monster points out it's huge eyes, big pointy teeth, sharp claws, long horns, and roars its biggest roar, Kid isn't scared. Kid thinks Monster is cute, and gives Monster a hug, which turns out to be not such a bad thing. The story is cute and sweet, and Monster really is adorable! The illustrations are wonderful, I want to hug Monster too, and I like that Kid is gender neutral. The little dog is cute too! A fun little book perfect for little ones (and 51 year old women!).

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Sometimes, you think you are scary. You think you're a "bad guy"*. You're mad and you want to kick the wall.

You're a scary, scary monster.

But someone else comes along, and points out that you probably could just use a hug.

This book is absolutely freaking adorable. A simple board book, but still one that I think could amuse children up to 6 years old.


* Quoting my 3-year old nephew

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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Super cute little kids book, pretty simple story and art wise but imo great for small kids bed-nap time.

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Absolutely love Elise Gravel, I've read most of her work in french, this was my first read in english. Works great, funny and cute, nothing is lost in translation.

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I loved the illustrations and the color scheme here.
The story didn’t really work for me. I know it’s a kids book but I felt that the jump from not scared to hug was just abrupt. It was cute and I get the idea behind it, I just didn’t feel that it was evident why the kid wasn’t scared without some context.

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"I Am Scary" by Elise Gravel is a cute children's book about facing one's fears. A monster tries its hardest to scare a little girl. The girl tells the monster she isn't afraid of it and offers the monster a hug instead.

What I liked about this book was the illustrations -- the monster looked like a modernized, pared-down version of a Maurice Sendak "Wild Thing." Elise Gravel, the author and illustrator, shows a two sides of the same coin -- bravery and fear standing side by side; her illustrations nicely contrast the little girl's bravery by showing her dog's reaction to the monster -- his barking and trying pulling her away.

I would have liked for the illustrations to be little larger and "close up." Some of the girl's reactions (and dialogue ) are a little more subtle than I would have liked for a young reader. But it also makes the monster less scary. The drama of this story would come through an adult's reading the story and voicing the drama. The pictures make the monster seem more comic than frightening.

The book could have taken the story a little further than the hug. "I AM SCARY" ends abruptly with the hug eliciting a tear from the monster and -- boom -- the end. Close ups of the characters would have made the emotions of these characters stronger and would have give the story more impact and energy, though I could see this being a nice gift book for adults who are parenting the toddlers or are facing fears or anxiety of their own. It would also make a nice title for a therapist's waiting room.

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This is a cute short kid’s book about a monster who does not understand why a child is not afraid of him.

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This was an enjoyable read. The illustrations were minimal but very cute. Such an adorable little monster book.

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This is a cute little story. Very simple illustrations but nice ending. I think it would be better with my toddler than my students.

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I Am Scary was super short and super cute. My kiddos thought the monster was hilarious. I really dug the minimal color scheme.

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Ahhhhh . Such a simple and cute story about a monster who doesn’t know what to do when he is no longer scary. But a little girl will help show him the way. The illustrations are simple, but work perfectly with the story line. And a bonus, this was translated from the original French.

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“I am Scary” by Elise Gravel. As a mom of three (ages 1, 4, and 6), we tend to change up what we read together – from picture books to chapter books, we catch them all. Admittedly, for someone who loves to read ALL THE TIME, I tend to not read as long or as often as I should to my kiddos. But, they always get something before bed, no matter how short. The board book “I am Scary” hits the nail on the head for those nights that I don’t have enough time for a few chapters. It’s about a little monster that’s having a hard time scaring a little girl. The simple story and artwork are cute, and the interactions between the two allow for me to use my monster voices and act out the scenes with a big hug goodnight at the end. I would recommend this book to parents who like to mix things up with shorter board books.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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A sweet, giggle-inducing thrill from the queen of cutesy monsters, Elise Gravel. Fun for little readers.

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"I Am Scary" is a children's picture book. There is much to this one. Nothing all that special as far as picture books go.

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This is a simple story for toddlers about a monster that thinks they're scarier than they really are. After multiple attempts to scare a child, it gets upset, only to be comforted by their intended victim.

The pictures are simple, but very amusing. The child might not be scared, but their dog is! It's fun to watch its reactions to the monster's scaring attempts throughout the pages. The ending is sweet and strikes just the right note.

I'm not usually a fan of picture books this simple, but the simplicity really works in this case. Toddlers and their parents will probably really enjoy this one.

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I Am Scary
by Elise Gravel
I read this book to my two granddaughter's who are One & Two . I also read it to my 4 year old daughter. All three of them LOVED it ! It has the funniest, friendliest looking Monster. Nothing scary at all about it and the story is fun to read. I love the flow of this simple story. The author writes in a way that is easy to read out loud. And omg the illustrations are too cute!! This is such a funny and cute board book for little readers.
Parents - you will love because it is the PERFECT length for a very young child.
I highly recommend getting this book. Many thanks to the Publisher , the Author , and NetGalley for a ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you would like to follow my reviews please do so at my facebook page Joyce Stewart Reviews or my reading group Stewart Book Reviews Book Club.
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