Bedtime for Monsters

“Supposing there are monsters... do you think that this monster might be licking his lips and thinking about you?” writes Vere as a dopey-looking green monster with bug-eyes and a tongue hanging out of his mouth makes his way toward readers. As the monster approaches, Vere offers clues about what it might do when it arrives: “[D]o you think he’ll decide you’ll taste even more delicious squished and then squashed onto hot buttered toast?” Vere carefully crafts suspense as the book progresses, amping up readers’ excitement and anticipation before the slobbery (but not scary) finale. Ages 3–up. (July)