Two Monsters

McKee, creator of the King Rollo series, brings to life a simple story of two monsters living on opposite sides of a mountain. Communicating through only a hole, one monster declares that day is departing, while the other firmly believes that night is arriving. After this disagreement, neither monster can sleep, which makes them grouchy and further fuels the argument, leading to a name-calling, stone-hurling, earth-shattering fight. As the monsters' insults get longer, the rocks they throw get larger, and the mountain separating the two is smashed into bits and pieces. For the first time the monsters see each other, and realize the other one just might be right. Together they watch the sunset, giggling over their foolish quarrel. Young readers will delight inand probably repeatthe outrageously silly insults; the clean, crisp lines of the monsters' bodies and the rocks contrast nicely with the subdued washes of the morning and evening skies. (47)