Once again I come to you after a much anticipated Before Bed story with Nubby (A.K.A Bop, A.K.A. Shmoo 2). Last night’s offering, which was far too advanced for her but fun none the less, was A Monster Wrote Me A Letter written and illustrated by Nick Bland and published in 2005 by Scholastic Australia.
This was one of many, along with Are You Quite Polite and The Hiccupotamus, that I had to pick up because of an alluring front cover. On that cover? A sepia toned drawing of the innocent somewhat puzzled eyes of a polka-dotted monster peeking in to an open window and dropping off an envelope. The only color represented is the washed out red of the partially drawn curtain.

The story opens with THE BOY who is sitting at the breakfast table, about to take a bite of what looks like a spoon full of cheerios, a glass of milk close by, while he holds a letter in his left hand and is reading it out of the corner of his eyes. Classic multi-tasking. You can all but picture him twenty years later with a lap top and a frothy moccaccino. His little sister has left her chair and toast with raspberry jam to peek at the letter from over his shoulder.
A monster wrote me a letter today.
He said he was coming to my house to play.
But what if he’s scary and he won’t go away?
What if the monster decides to stay?
The Boy decides that any monster who would write in advance can’t be that scary. He has a ton of questions before this monster pops over so the only left to do is write him back.

CUT TO:

An underground concrete lair with sewage pipes. THE MONSTER, a perplexed, spotted creature with purple plaid shorts and cropped Whoopi Goldberg hair is wandering through his catacombs reading a letter by the light of a candle. Insert best goofy monster voice here... Me Do!
A little boy wrote me a letter today.
He thinks that I’m going to his house to play.
There’s been a mistake, but what can I say?
He expects me there on Saturday!
Turns out, the monster was writing to his cousin Fred who lives under the boy’s bed. Since the mistake has been made the only thing left to do is to suck it up and get ready to go. Calling off at such short notice would be unthinkable.

The story continues, flipping back and forth from The Boy’s perspective to The Monster’s. Neither have met someone from the other species before and both are concerned about proper etiquette. The boy hauls garbage in to the house and covers the front path with nettles. He puts piranhas in the bathtub, frogs in the fishbowl, decks the house with cobwebs and paints his face green, all the while practicing his monstrous roar in front of his little sister. The monster, in the meanwhile, dies his favorite Hawaiian shirt a plain white, takes a bath, combs out his dreadlocks in to a swooping Elvis pompadour and puts on a tie.
When the day finally arrives, the two go through the necessary initial amenities and then start to introduce each other to their own way of life. They hit it off and end up becoming inseparable friends.

This is a great story. There’s a lot to grab the attention of a small child, once again all you need to do is add to it. The story is told in two voices so think of them in advance. You have a studious eager boy and a good hearted, gift bearing monster. My monster ended up sounding like a cross between Grover and Cookie Monster. I was a bit concerned that the predominant sepia illustrations would loose her attention but they didn’t. I think the two main reasons are that on every page at least one thing is colorized (Jam, A Rubber Duck, Purple plaid monster shorts) and that the illustrations themselves have a cool, animated 3D feel to them. You can play the “What color do you see on this page?” game if you want to draw the story out (although my one year old hasn’t answered any of my questions yet... not sure if she’s just being stubborn or what).
One thing that bothers me a bit is stories that loose their appeal and are boring for adults to read. This one isn't. The illustrations are just plain funny from the studious look in the boy's eyes to the vacuous distance of his little sister. She will do what ever he says when ever he says to do it, with plodding obedience, and never think twice. The concern on the monster's face is real and you never doubt his sincerity. I especially had to smile a bit more every page as all the monster's clothing was stolen by the little sister once the visit had begun. Seeing her in the background putting his tie over her head or wearing his shoes gave the story added depth and charm.
The story itself is told in rhyming quatrains as outlined above and delivers many important messages for when your child gets older. First of all, don’t have any pre-conceived notions. Just because a monster is coming to the house doesn’t mean he’s going to scratch your eyes out or eat your little sister. I can see this book being trotted out when my girl hits her “There’s a monster in my closet” faze.
Secondly, it really doesn’t hurt to go that extra mile if someone is coming over or if you are going to visit. Doing a few things around the house to make potential guests a bit more comfortable won’t kill you and will be very appreciated in the end. You probably don’t need to carry garbage cans filled with slugs and rotting meat in to the kitchen but still... every little bit helps.
Third and most importantly is the racial harmony aspect. It really won’t kill you to learn a little something about other races besides your own. It might even make your life a bit richer and fuller.

A top notch book and at seven dollars one of the better buys I have recently made. I won't hesitate to read it again to Hailee despite her young age and will be trotting it out for a few years.


Recommended: Yes