No Such Thing

Monsters, according to popular opinion, live under beds. Koller (the Mole and Shrew books), rather than deny these beasts' existence, questions their frightful intentions. In this mildly suspenseful tale, a boy named Howard tells his mother, ""I heard [a monster] snurkling under my bed."" Meanwhile, a young monster informs his mother that he hears a boy ""sneezing on top of my bed."" Left alone by their disbelieving parents, human and monster peek at each other and shriek in fear; only when their terror turns to tears do they dare a second, curious look. On the closing page, they trade places for a practical joke that's left to the reader's imagination: "" `Oh, Mommy,' they both called together. `Mommy, come quick!' "" Lewin (Somebody Catch My Homework) draws in loose, Quentin Blake-style gestures of pen and ink, and fills the negative space with watercolor washes of dusky blue and brown. She envisions Monster (who reads a scary comic titled Boy) as a warty green gargoyle with clawed toes, a boar's snout and tusks. Koller invents a monster vocabulary: Monster ""whimples"" when Howard whimpers, and ""sniggles"" when his friend giggles. The plot is predictable and even a bit shopworn, yet the energetic telling and agreeable illustrations could put some fears temporarily to rest. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)