Sibling relationships, specifically big brother and little sister, are at the center of one of the funniest picture books on monsters that I’ve read in a while. As I think about siblings getting along (or not!), I only need to look to the bedroom doors of my three kids for an illustration of this dynamic in my house:
Grasshopper and Sensei, girl, age 13 … now that she’s a teen, she likes to keep her door locked.
PickyKidPix, girl, age 11 … she’s really into fining people for violating her keep out rules.
My son, boy, age 8 … apparently, he’s the only person who doesn’t care if you enter his room.
The Monstore by Tara Lazar, illustrated by James Burks
Do you need monsters to keep your little sister out of your room? If so, you need to go to the Monstore.
At the back of Frankensweet’s Candy Shoppe, under the last box of sour gumballs, there’s a trapdoor.
Knock five times fast, hand over the bag of squirmy worms, and you can crawl inside The Monstore.
Zack’s pesky little sister Gracie ignores his keep out sign on his door. He’s hoping the addition of a monster will keep her out! The only problem is the Monstore’s return policy: No Refunds. No Exchanges. No Exceptions! Things don’t turn out as Zach expected and this twist is what makes this picture book so much fun! [picture book, ages 4 and up]
To view The Monstore more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.
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BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
This sounds hilarious! Reminds me of my situation with my younger brother!
Hi Barbara,
It is a cute and funny book! The poor beleaguered older brother!
The book sounds great. The keep out signs crack me up! I love the fine.
Hi Jackie,
Thanks so much! The sad thing is that the youngest will actually pay her!!
This is on my to read and share for my summer program list. Thanks for sharing you review with us and those pics!!! Love them….esp your boys. Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks Deb! Glad you liked the review of the book. Looking forward to hearing what you think of it when you read it this summer.
My son would love this book. He is really into monsters later. All his clothes and movies have to be about monsters 🙂
Hi Tanya,
Isn’t so great when your child has a particular thing he’s into that drives his entire life from books to clothes? I love that! I’m glad this monster book helps. Let me think… I also liked The Monster’s Monster by Patrick McDonnell. It’s a very cute and sweet book. And, Leonardo The Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. Also sweet about friendship. Want me to make a monster picture book list for your son?
Cute! Sounds like such a fun book!
Thanks so much Monika!
That looks fun- Fen’s door has morphed into all sorts of ways to keep us out- she hasn’t tried fining us yet, but I’ll suggest it to her 🙂
Hi Jeanette,
Can you believe that my poor little boy actually will pay her? We had to counsel him to stop doing that!
This book does sound fun! In our house, the 3yo is the most likely to try to keep the other kids out!
Hi Maryanne,
You’re 3 year old sounds like a big personality! The book is fun and the ending is even better because it challenges stereotypes of girls being girly princesses. Love that.
Great review Mia, we have been dying to get our hands on this book for Miss G almost 2 who is obsessed with monsters. Lol It is on order and sitting in a ship sailing across the ocean to us. We love the cover and have been following Author Tara Lazar’s publishing journey so as soon as it comes we will be posting our own review. I am not sure we will shape up lol. The bar has been set very high. Maybe a read aloud will do the trick. Thanks for linking in to the Kid Lit Blog Hop. Cheers Julie
Thanks Julie,
I’ll do a giveaway for The Monstore so I hope you subscribe to my email newsletter to win it for Miss G. My July newsletter I think.
Looks like an interesting book. Thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library. I am featuring it on iGameMom.
Thanks so much iGameMom for featuring The Monstore! I really appreciate it!