The Monster Next Door
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
From the creator of Ladybug Girl and Three Bears in a Boat, this funny and endearing tale of friendship found and tested is perfect for fans of The Adventures of Beekle
In a big field, a boy has a tree house, and one day, he has a neighbor—a monster with a talent for silly dances and funny faces. The two become fast friends, even setting up a pulley line to pass notes between their tree houses. The boy knows just how to celebrate this invention—with music! But the monster's tuba music is loud. Really loud. WAY. TOO. LOUD. Before the boy can think, he hurls a water balloon at his neighbor to get him to stop. An epic water-balloon fight ensues, until the boy—fed up, spent, done—cuts the pulley line. No more note-passing. No more monster. Can the boy and monster ever be friends again? Does the boy even want to? Maybe he just needs to see things from a new, unexpected perspective.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ladybug Girl co-creator Soman charts the highs and lows of a nascent friendship in this quirky, sensitive story. His hero, Boy, has a fine-looking tree house, and he soon gets a neighbor, Monster a purple, gumdrop-shaped creature with a tree house of his own. After the two bond over bad jokes, silly dances, and muscle poses, an improbable friendship forms. But a musical celebration turns sour when Monster's sousaphone drowns out Boy's kazoo, leading to name-calling and a gigantic water balloon fight: "The Boy saw it clearly the Monster was mean." Soman makes good use of full-page images and panel sequences to show the gulf between the two characters, one that is addressed by a change in perspective. After traveling to Monster's tree house to deliver a "not friends" note, Boy realizes how much fun they had together ("Things looked different over here"). The soft swishes of color and bursts of onomatopoeia (like the "splort" of a bursting water balloon) add lightness to a story that highlights the value of embracing difference and keeping an open mind. Ages 3 5.
