Monsters Are Afraid of Babies

August 17, 2020
This slight tale subverts expectations by revealing monsters’ true fear: babies. As an older brunette child reads a bedtime story to their younger, balder sibling, they hear noises coming from within the dark closet—though the duo seems oblivious to the monstrous existence of glowing-eyed entities tucked around the room and beneath the bed. Flipping on the lights, the older kid soon discovers that the baby terrifies the multicolored, big-eyed creatures hidden in the closet. Spreads of the infant crying, needing to be changed, teething, and otherwise demonstrating baby behavior teaches the narrator: “It’s no wonder why.../ Babies make monsters want to cry!” A loose rhyme scheme accompanies unoutlined but expressive digital illustrations. While the brief narrative feels slightly underdeveloped, the conceit is likely to entertain new older siblings with a fondness for the monstrous. Ages 4–6.