My Big Bad Monster

A child with a shock of scribbly red curls is hounded by a monster that derides her. The monster starts out as a little shadow in the corner of her room but grows into a large and pugnacious woolly creature. The more it hurls insults at the girl, the more she believes them: “Nobody wants to play with you!” the enormous monster shouts as she stands apart from other children. Eventually, the child starts to act like the monster herself, pointing and laughing at her peers. When she’s fed up with the noisy bully, she comes up with an inventive solution for drowning out its meanness—one that also draws new friends. Kang’s moody illustrations artfully convey how toxic negative dialogue can be while suggesting that there are different, creative approaches to quieting down the beast—even if anxiety doesn’t always clear off so easily in reality. Ages 3–5. [em](July) [/em]