BOOK REVIEW: How I Met My Monster - Written by Amanda Noll & Illustrated by Howard McWilliam

Review: ★★★★☆

Summary

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead:

"Monsters! Meet here for final test!"

Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying in bed ... until he sees a bunch of colorful eyes blinking back at him.

How does stomach rumbling and snorting help one monster become Ethan's best bedtime friend? Find out in this silly-spooky prequel to the award-winning I Need My Monster.

How I Met My Monster is an irresistible monster-under-the-bed story for monster-loving kids. The perfect balance of shivers and giggles will keep you under your covers, and you'll soon be sleeping soundly.

My Review

I was checking in books people had returned to the library when I came across this book. The cover art had caught my eye. I absolutely loved the illustration style, and the colorful way "monster" is written made it impossible not to open the book and see what it was about.

Ethan is a little boy who can't fall asleep after his parents tuck him into bed. He gets up and begins to secretly play with his toys when he finds a strange note under his bed. It turns out that monsters are real, and their sole purpose is to live under children's beds and ensure a child stays in bed until they fall asleep. They're actually quite nice.

Ethan meets several monsters who are all in training to become his monster, but he isn't scared of any of them. A whole range of silly things happen as they try to find the best monster for Ethan, and finally, they settle on a monster who is friendly and just scary enough to keep Ethan in bed at night.

Art: ★★★★★

Honestly, it was the cover art that made me open this book. I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I absolutely did, and this time it was worth it. The illustrations are vibrant and fun, Ethan is an adorable little boy, and the monsters are also pretty cute. I loved how colorful it was for a story set at night.

Plot: ★★★★☆

The plot was just way too cute. Nice monsters under the bed who actually help children by scaring them? Yes. Absolutely, yes.

Characters: ★★★★☆

Ethan is a brave little boy! If I found out monsters were living under my bed, even super cute ones, I don't think I'd be as fearless as he is in this book! I think his reaction to the monsters would help any little kids reading the book or listening to their parents read this book know that the monsters aren't really there to be feared, they're there to help!

Setting: ★★★★☆

The story is set in Ethan's bedroom and his house, which could have been pretty boring, but the art style made it colorful and exciting.

Recommended For

Anyone! I'm 28, and even I enjoyed reading this cute story. However, I would mainly recommend it for ages 5+.

Triggers

If you have children who would be scared of the thought of cute, helpful monsters under their bed, this probably isn't for them.