10. Big Scary Monster

Written and illustrated by Thomas Docherty

Templar Books, 2010

$15.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages

A hulking blue monster struts about scaring every creature at the top of a mountain until one day he gets a taste of his own terror.

Standing on the top of the mountain, the monster knows he's the biggest, scariest creature around and delights in sneaking up on little creatures, yelling, "Boo!," and seeing them scatter.

After awhile, the cute little bunnies, pigs, wiener dogs, roosters, frogs and turtles learn to hide from the big blocky fellow, leaving him scratching his head and wondering what to do.

Then one day while looking out from the peak, the big scary monster sees tiny little animals frolicking around in the valley and decides he needs a new herd of hapless creatures to scare.

So he ambles down the mountain, his big clawed arms swinging with confidence. But as the monster gets further down the mountain, something strange begins to happen: his perspective changes.

Rocks become bigger, and so do plants, and soon both are shadowing over him. 

And what of the little creatures playing below?

They're enormous: every little creature he used to scare has a counterpart that is double his size.

Shaken by the growing size of things, the monster hides behind a giant fluffy rock for safety. He's never been so scared in his life.

But why is the rock twitching?

Suddenly the rock hops around and yells, "Boo," scaring the monster up the mountain, passed all the giant rocks and plants in search of all the little creatures he used to scare.

But, of course, the little animals are too wise to be found, and as day turns to night, the monster's heart sinks and he begins to cry.

So what are all those heads popping up from the rock above him?

In this delightful tale about how to be a friend, a monster learns the importance of empathy, and discovers how to make a game of "Boo!" fun for everyone.

The body language of this lumbering monster is hilarious, and even though he's initially scary to the little creatures, readers will wish from the start they could give him a squeeze.