My Monster and Me

January 15, 2021
A child learns to manage the monster that has overwhelmed them. Narrating in first person, a small, brown child introduces readers to their monster: a large, yellow, furry creature with horns and a wide-eyed smile. The monster has always been there--always big and loud. The monster hides when family members come around, so the child can't get help getting rid of it. The monster gets "bossier," telling the child what to wear and preventing them from going outside to play with friends. One day, the monster is waiting for the child after school, and the child can't take it anymore. Telling Gran all about the monster...suddenly makes the monster shrink. After that, the monster isn't so scary anymore. British cooking personality Hussain personalizes this tale with a note about her own panic disorder, which inspired her to write this story to support children in naming and understanding "worries, anxiety and panic." The direct-address narration and Bailey's illustrations work together remarkably well to provide a poignant tool to do just that. With sweet pictures that show how things can change, this accessible tale will empower children to identify and speak about their worries, taking control away from their "monsters" and letting them enjoying their lives. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 78% of actual size.) Charming and effective. (Picture book. 3-8)

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February 15, 2021
Grades K-2 Featuring colorful, expressive art and accessible text, this focuses on the topic of dealing with worries and anxiety, personified here as a looming, but not scary, monster. A young boy relates how his monster is a constant, unwelcome companion that does everything from disrupting bedtime ("I could hear nothing but its ginormous, growly snore") to preventing his playing outdoors with friends. What's more, it sneakily hides whenever the boy asks his parents to make it leave. Then, while visiting Gran, he tells her about it, and as he does, the monster begins to shrink. Though it doesn't disappear completely, the boy learns to manage its presence. Bright, cartoonish illustrations depict multicultural characters in familiar activities, interspersing some leavening touches, like the monster cuddling a teddy bear, while also sympathetically portraying the boy's feelings and, ultimately, his newfound confidence. While the emotion that the monster represents isn't specified in the main narrative, Hussain shares her own experience with panic disorder in an author's note. An encouraging story that may provide discussion opportunities for kids and their adults.

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May 1, 2021

PreS-Gr 1-For as long as the small brown-skinned child can remember, anxiety and panic attacks have been a constant in his life. The metaphor for this is a small, hairy, yellow creature that increases in size as the boy grows up, and becomes more demanding, too. It hides whenever anyone else is around, and then grows huge again when the boy leaves the security of home. It rules his life, not even allowing him to go outside and play with other children: "It stood in the way and wouldn't budge." One day, when he is overwhelmed, the distressed boy tells his grandmother about his monster and the creature is suddenly diminished; it becomes small enough to fit in the child's pocket. What a sweet, accessible way to bring a conversation about panic attacks into a child's understanding! Readers will see that talking about the "monster" is the path to feeling better, a lesson they could apply to other problems. Though his anxiety never goes away completely, the youngster learns to manage his feelings better. Illustrations of the furry monster are not frightening but serve as a visual manifestation of an internal disorder. VERDICT Hussain, who won The Great British Bake Off, seems to understand children just as much as cooking, granting them a path to coping, without ever belitting the sources of their fear.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek P.L., WI

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