by Marie Drucker

Created on: November 17, 2009

What's an unscary monster to do? That's what Leonardo has to figure out in this picture book by Mo Willems. Leonardo is terrible-at frightening people. Unlike some other monsters he knows, he isn't tremendously large or equipped with more than 1,000 teeth. He's not even weird. In fact, people obviously think he's cute. For a monster, that is terrible. But then Leonardo comes up with a plan to "scare the tuna salad" out of someone. He'll pick a scaredy-cat kid and give him "all he has." Much to Leonardo's dismay, though, the one kid he's chosen has already had a tough day and is feeling lousy. And, boy, does he lets Leonardo know all about it. Our monster has to make a big decision about what to do next.

Willems, who has written for Sesame Street (and won several Emmys for that work) and writes the best-selling Pigeon series (the first, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!," was a Caldecott Honor book) and Elephant and Piggy series (which includes the new "Elephants Can Not Dance") knows his audience. Both Leonardo and his would-be target Sam are sympathetic characters and rather like the children who will be reading the book. The story is short, simple, and feels genuine. As Alice Cary, writing for BookPage Reviews, put it, "Willems is superb at plotting small stories with big hearts."

The design of the book adds to the tale. The pages have colorful, but muted backgrounds with large, inviting display text in an old-fashioned font. Leonardo-and the other monsters-are somewhat comical, rather than frightening. Leonardo himself is, actually, cute (and somewhat reminiscent of a Maurice Sendak monster, albeit in a smaller size). Simple spreads alternate with oversized monsters or large text to maintain dramatic tension.

In end, the Leonardo and Sam become friends-though Leonardo still hopes to sneak in a few scares now and then. That little twist keeps the book grounded. After all, how can a monster-even a terrible one-become perfect so quickly? No, both Leonardo and Sam are real and so is this story.

In all, it's a great book to read-aloud to a group of kids, to just one, or for a child to savor on his own. (Be sure to look for the drawing of the author himself within the pages.)

Leonardo the Terrible Monster, by Mo Willems. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2005.

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