The Monster at the End of This Book (Big Bird's Favorites Brd Bks)

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The Monster at the End of This Book (Big Bird's Favorites Brd Bks)

by Jon Stone, Michael J. Smollin

4.48 · rating details · 22,009 ratings · 1,195 reviews

Lovable, furry old Grover is distressed to learn that there's a monster at the end of this book! He begs readers not to turn the pages, but of course kids feel they just have to see this monster for themselves. Grover is astonished--and kids are delighted--to discover who is really the monster at the end of the book!

Board book, 24 pages

Published June 27th 2000 by Random House Books for Young Readers (first published 1971)

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Aug 01, 2007

Jeremy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: children

I had a very love/hate relationship with The Muppets in my early youth. I really, really liked watching "The Muppet Show" and "Sesame Street". They were two of my favorite shows, and I still hold both in high regard. However, every now and then and completely out of nowhere, a Muppet would do something that genuinely terrified me. For example, I really hated that old "Sesame" sketch when a couple of mild-mannered puppets would calmly take turns whispering words ...moreI had a very love/hate relationship with The Muppets in my early youth. I really, really liked watching "The Muppet Show" and "Sesame Street". They were two of my favorite shows, and I still hold both in high regard. However, every now and then and completely out of nowhere, a Muppet would do something that genuinely terrified me. For example, I really hated that old "Sesame" sketch when a couple of mild-mannered puppets would calmly take turns whispering words that rhymed to a gently jazzy beat, and then this orange hairy guy would barrel up to the screen, and, without regard for rhythm or personal space, bellow an unwieldy sentence containing all the words the less-horrific Muppets had so charmingly whispered earlier. That SCARED me. Badly. I was scared of beards, yelling, and any pictures or toys depicting someone or something with a gaping mouth.

Thus, I had serious issues with "Monster at the End of this Book". I was always very ill at ease with Grover, anyway. He caused terrible problems for everyone he encountered, and almost never showed remorse. Also, he couldn't seem to communicate without shouting and gesticulating wildly. I had real problems with the way he carried himself, so I knew going into the book that I probably wasn't going to like it much. What I didn't expect was to be profoundly affected, to the point of tears and sleepless nights, by a drawing of Grover, his furry mouth so wide with terror that his head resembled a blubbering halved blue grapefruit, positively out of control with horror and dread concerning the MONSTER that was about to destroy him, to destroy us all, because he'd spoken to me, personally, directly, about the effects the very book I held in my hands would have on the both of us in the immediate future.

I never appreciated or even detected the pleasingly ironic denouement of this, the most devious Little Golden Book of them all, until 4th or 5th grade, when I finally dared to finish the thing. In my preschool days, as far as I was concerned, they may as well have entitled the book "Grover Undergoes a Harrowing Mental Breakdown, and Will Implore You to Help Him Throughout (You Cannot)".

One star, one scar. (less)

like 40 likes

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Jul 30, 2010

Kim rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: children, holy-shit

‘Oh great,’ you’re thinking, ‘another witty endeavor where a Goodreader reflects back on a childhood favorite. Oh joy.'

Well, suck it up and deal.

A-hem… While rifling through the book section at my local Goodwill; I came across this little gem. Copyright 1980, Little Golden Books® edition complete with all our favorite characters outlining the back cover… The Tawny Scrawny Lion, Tootle, The Poky Little Puppy… that famous gold-foil binding (seriously, it says so… ri...more

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Apr 23, 2009

Amanda added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fer-teenagers-kids-and-younguns

(4/23/09) I saw a quote from this book on my friend Misha's profile last night and a flood of good feelings came rushing over me. While I don't remember the specifics of the story (other than the surprise ending!), I do remember reading it a hundred thousand times. I remember the golden spine, a different texture than the rest of the hard cover. I remember, that maybe, years later, the dog chewed the corner. And I remember loving this book a lot.

Funny, as I think about it now, I wo...more

like 9 likes

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Jul 06, 2007

Raizel rated it

Riveting.
Gave me goose bumps.

A true page turner till the end.

like 16 likes

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Nov 11, 2008

Avis Black added it · review of another edition

Shelves: once-loved-sadly-outgrown

This was the very first book I ever bought with my own money, me being the age of seven, and I remember the whole event as being almost frighteningly grown-up, to actually buy a book. I also annoyed the crap out of my parents by making them read it to me repeatedly. Loved it at the time.

like 3 likes

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Jan 17, 2009

Steven Stark rated it

· review of another edition

This book starts out great! I love Grover.

The problem is that Grover asks you to not turn any more pages, because of his belief that there is a monster at the end of the book. I decided to honor Grover's wish.

Oh, I turned a few pages. But when Grover took the time to tie all the pages together to discourage me from turning any more, well, I just didn't have the heart to go on. The little guy was really scared.

But I can't help but think.....are all monste...more

like 14 likes

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Oct 09, 2007

Courtney rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: postmodern scholars

We are the monster we fear.

We are also the monster that induces fear in others, sometimes by an act as simple as turning a page.

The reader is the author of meaning.

Simply existing and acting causes ripples in the realities of others which we are incapable of comprehending.

When you pick up a stone, the earth is lighter.

When you turn the page, you are one moment closer to your own death.

Not turning the page will not make t...more

like 10 likes

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Jul 04, 2011

Bruce M rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: children, sesame-street, muppets, humour, suspense, illustrated, licensed-property

I can remember reading this book with my mother as a young child. I remember reading this book to my much younger brother when he was a young child (There's 13 years between us). Now I'm reading it to my own daughter.

Out of all things Sesame Street, books, sketches, songs, movies... this is one of my absolute favourites. Every page of this book is amazing. I love Grover addressing the reader, like he so often does on the show. I love the piles of debris visible through the tears ...more

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Jan 30, 2008

Mike rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone with little ones

Shelves: kids

This is my youngest daughter’s “most favoritest book” and to be honest, it is a joy to read it with her… every night… until she finds another favoritest book.

like 5 likes

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Jan 14, 2009

Karen rated it

· review of another edition

This book was a delightful read from start to finish. The best part is, my children love it too and want me to read it all the time. I recently gave them all their own copy for Christmas. Furry old Grover is afraid of the monster at the end of the book and will do anything to get you stop turning pages. I don't want to spoil the end so that is all I'm going to say.

like 1 like

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Nov 17, 2007

Christina rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: EVERYONE

This is absolutely my favorite book of all time. I really can't remember when I first read it so I just guessed. I have always loved Grover as long as I can remember. It is such a clever and fun book, and while it does kind of play on kids' little rebellious streaks (turning the pages when Grover is trying everything in his power to get the reader not to), it also incites kids to keep reading all the way to the end, to finish what you start, to foster a healthy sense of curiosity, and even to no...more

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Apr 13, 2009

Brooke rated it

· review of another edition

I loved this book as a kid. It was one of my favorites. I think every kid should have this book read to them!

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Jan 26, 2009

Meg rated it

· review of another edition

LOVE IT! Another great kid's book. I can't even BEG my son into putting it down. If you need a hilarious book that will get your 3- to 7-year-old more interested in reading, Grover's got it made-to-order, as usual. You can find this book online for just a few bucks, and it might be the one that opens up the world for your little one. I still maintain that any kid who doesn't love to read just hasn't met the right book yet.

(Man, I miss those skits of Grover as a waiter... They a...more

like 3 likes

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Dec 07, 2011

Kirk rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: inner-demons-dissociative-behavio

"I . . . am the monster"
Grover Monster

This is probably one of the most profound statements in literary history to date. Today, there are hundreds of books, films and television shows which address man's incapacity to negotiate his own darkness. In many variations of the tale, we see the darkness within projected outward, cast onto another real or imagined character. Stephen King's Secret Window, even the latest season of Dexter reacquaints us with this age-old phe...more"I . . . am the monster"
Grover Monster

This is probably one of the most profound statements in literary history to date. Today, there are hundreds of books, films and television shows which address man's incapacity to negotiate his own darkness. In many variations of the tale, we see the darkness within projected outward, cast onto another real or imagined character. Stephen King's Secret Window, even the latest season of Dexter reacquaints us with this age-old phenomenon, but never have they explored it with the depth and finesse author Jon Stone did in the chilling The Monster at the End of this Book.

The tale begins with the seemingly lovable Grover, whose ambivalence has yet to be revealed. He fears the monster, an entity which he believes he shares no association with. His dissociation from his own darkness becomes apparent to the reader on the first page when Grover Monster ironically proclaims, "I am so scared of monsters" (Stone).

On subsequent pages, Grover's fear grows. But what does he truly fear? Does he fear the monster at the end of the book, or the fact that, upon reaching the end of the book, we will see him for who he truly is? If we align ourselves with the latter of these two possibilities, then the futility of his attempt to hinder our progress is augmented by the fact that even the casual observer can see Grover for what he truly is: a monster. On the other hand, if we believe Grover genuinely fears the monster at the end of the book, the text becomes a testament to identities which have become so fragmented that an individual interprets different facets of the self as separate individuals. The various mechanisms Grover constructs throughout the book follow in the vein of the former of these two possibilities, for it is the industrial era which catalyzed such fragmentation initially, and it is Grover's attempt to reconstruct the industrial mechanism, and his inability to adapt to the requirements of industry, which allow us to finish the text.

Over the next few pages, Grover treats the text as a serial killer might treat its victim, binding the book with rope, smothering the book with brick, and building a shack--likely in some remote location--in which he can hide the book away from the public eye. But all of his attempts to slow our progress prove only testament to his inability to adapt to the requirements of the harsh society whose growth is grounded in industry. Even the infantile readers can wretch victory from Grover's grasp simply by turning the pages. By turning the pages we leave him no choice but to identify himself with the only thing he can inherently identify himself as: the monster.

Grover's attempts to stop the reader from moving forward are reminiscent of the behaviors we all exhibit when trying to hide our darkest impulses. We try to box ourselves off from others, or "put up a wall." These very counterintuitive impulses are often what give us away. It is the hiding that reveals us.

While this text could be said to be a grim portrayal of our own fears and impulses, it ends on a positive note. Grover learns to embrace the monster within, and realizes that it is a benign force once refutation of its existence comes to an end, showing us that we all must accept the darkness within, for repression can only result in physiological complications and self-inflicted damage that far outweighs what we might perceive our inner demons to be capable of. The final message left to readers is best encapsulated by Grover's closing statement, "I told you and told you there was nothing to be afraid of." (Stone).(less)

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Aug 20, 2011

Roberta rated it

· review of another edition

Normally I steer clear of books about TV characters because of their low story quality. This story, however, is a hilarious page-by-page running joke, in which Grover, after reading the title, begs the reader not to turn the pages because he is afraid of meeting the monster. He erects barriers to page-turning which are destroyed as pages are turned, and when the last page is turned he discovers that he is the monster referred to in the title.

The humor turns on the fact that the auth...more

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Apr 28, 2011

Brad rated it

Shelves: children, pb-and-j-dipped-in-hot-chocolate, personal-mythology, read-to-scoutie

I do an ass kicking impersonation of Grover. Just ask my kids.

Actually, I can do any of the Muppets voiced by Frank Oz -- Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Sam the Eagle, Cookie Monster, Bert, even Yoda (which is my son's fave), but Grover is my best.

So when I was looking for a book for my little Scoutie a couple of months ago, something that I could hide away and save for just her and me, and I stumbled upon a little board book version of this Little Golden Book classic, I had to hav...more

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Apr 05, 2011

Eyebright rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone!

Shelves: 2011-books, childrens, my-favorites, read-aloud

When I first had the idea for writing a review about this book, I wondered if I would even be able to make it beyond a few sentences. I mean, writing a review for a silly children's story isn't exactly groundbreaking material.

However, just because it's a kid's book doesn't mean I can't share it with you, does it?

My Synopsis

The Monster at the End of this Book let's us communicate with the Sesame Street friend, Grover, as he struggles with overcoming his fear of Mon...moreWhen I first had the idea for writing a review about this book, I wondered if I would even be able to make it beyond a few sentences. I mean, writing a review for a silly children's story isn't exactly groundbreaking material.

However, just because it's a kid's book doesn't mean I can't share it with you, does it?

My Synopsis

The Monster at the End of this Book let's us communicate with the Sesame Street friend, Grover, as he struggles with overcoming his fear of Monsters. Having read the title page, he's desperate to prevent you, as the reader, from getting to the end of the book, and thus the monster! What he doesn't know, and what the reader is surprised to discover is a mystery that will keep you and your small friends reading it again and again.

My Thoughts

The Monster at the End of this Book is a super fun, interactive reading experience that draws a child into it in a way that many static books can never hope to achieve. Each page presents the new, and increasingly funny obstacle of turning the next page, and watching with bright eyes for Grover's hilarious response.

Of course, the book was meant to be read with specific energy. In fact, how could the reader not read it with the excitement that it demands? It draws older audiences in too, entertaining them with the child's delight, and the creative story.

Not only that, but for us older readers, if we really look, we can see a lesson of ourselves. It might be a bit of a stretch to say such a thing. It's true, though! How often do we get worked up about something that proves to have been nothing after all? We build walls and barricades in an effort to prevent our fears from approaching, only to have it dodge our walls and discover that it was nothing that we couldn't handle, especially with help from the Lord. Unlike Grover, though, who leaves embarrassed, we are given grace to pick us back up from our embarrassment and set us back on the way again.

My recommendation? Definitely read this book. It's a reading experience that you and your little friend's will never forget. :)(less)

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Mar 11, 2011

Rich Stoehr rated it

Shelves: my-childhood

I remember this book well.

I remember Grover's initial shock at the discovery that there is, indeed, a monster lurking at the end of the book in my hands.

I remember the whispered entreaty to please, please not turn the page - adorable, fuzzy Grover does not want to see the monster!

I remember the increasingly desperate attempts Grover makes to stop me from turning the pages: tying the book together with rope, building brick walls between pages, nailing the book shut, ...more

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Oct 21, 2010

Vivian rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

While the first story was being read a toddler came up to explore the books on display (as often happens),selected this book and put it on my lap. I had not planned to tell this story. After all, it's about a monster and today's theme was "ghosts". However, it's a fun book so I told him we'd do this story next. Satisfied, he sat down.

Be sure to begin reading this from the title page.

The typography in this book guides the reader in HOW to read the story. ...more

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Jun 05, 2009

Shanna Gonzalez rated it

Shelves: children-04-08

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Nov 09, 2009

Damian rated it

· review of another edition

This book is perfect for your 2-4 year old. It gives your child permission to disobey important instructions from cute, loveable Grover (who could whoop Elmo in a Sesame street fight).

The book grabs your attention from the very first line, with Grover teasing your child's curiosity about a potential monster at the end of the book, all the while begging your child NOT to turn the page. And yet we encourage the child to do it anyway.

This "cute-for-now" momen...more

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Jan 18, 2011

Amancay rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: children-s, hardback, golden-book, favorites

This is seriously the best book ever made! I loved it as a child, and still get excited as I read it (aloud of course!) It was the first book I ever bought for my younger cousins, and they loved having me read it to them. My friends in Argentina also got a kick out of having me read it to them, even though it was in English... my excitement was enough to make it worth while! A definite must have for anyone's library. I'm just glad I saved my self a golden book hardcover version, since I see that...more

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Sep 25, 2008

Kerri rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: just-plain-fun, books-for-teaching-writing, picture-books

I was searching for a different book and saw this one. Imagine the song 'Memories' playing in the background as you read this review...

I absolutely loved this book when I was little because Grover was talking to me! The way they used the pages of the book to create a hiding place for the "monster" at the end made it fun for me to read then and again as my boys were growing up.

like 1 like

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Jan 29, 2012

Jody rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-books-from-my-childhood, most-loved

ok so I have a slight Little Golden Book addiction. I love looking high and low for vintage ones.
Of course my favs being, Baby Dear, Little Mommy and So Big. I searched long for these books. I seriously could talk about Golden Books for hours. Eloise Wilkin, was such a prolific illustrator and for me the best. I adore her books.

The first Little Golden Book was first published in 1942 and sold for just 25 cents. The Poky Little Puppy has sold the most copies.
I seriously ...more

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Dec 09, 2011

Muse Here rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: parents

Recommended to Muse by: my boyfriend

Shelves: kids

This is a really cute book. My kids laugh and laugh at how silly Grover is while he's trying to prevent you from reaching the end of the book. Very funny and clever. I also liked how at the end Grover plays it off as if he wasn't scared at all, but as he walking away, hides his face and says "Oh I'm so embarrassed". I think most kids can relate not only to fear, but to trying to deny that you were the one who was scared and then being embarrassed when everything turns out fine. I ...more

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Sep 30, 2011

Talia rated it

· review of another edition

My mom used to read this book to me when I was a little kid in the early 80s. It was my favorite book, and I begged her for it every night before bed. Grover's begging pleas, humor and frustration were the perfect mix for a bedtime story.

Now 30 years later, I've been given the opportunity to share it with my 4 1/2 year old nephew who apparently enjoys the story just as much as me! After reading it to him, he proceeded to take the book away and "read" it to me - twice! - wit...more

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Oct 18, 2010

Jennifer rated it

· review of another edition

In a former work incarnation I was the Barnes & Noble storytime lady, AKA Miss Jen.

The Monster at the End of this Book was very likely the most requested title. Kids clamoured for some serious Grover, and not without reason--it's a great book. Very likely one of my favorite children's titles. I tried to steer clear of tv-related materials, this book was my welcome exception. It really didn't matter if I had labored away on creating a bear/hibernating/winter theme with a cotton-bally c...more

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Aug 25, 2008

Niesha rated it

· review of another edition

I'm not sure what it was about this book, but I loved it! When I recently found a used copy of it, I was immediately transported back to my mother's lap, eagerly waiting to see the monster and laughing outrageously at Grover.

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Apr 18, 2011

Erin rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: caregivers of small children

Shelves: all-timefavorites, humor, picture-books, read-aloud, story-doorway

This was one of my all-time favorite books when I was a kid. Especially if it's read with a dramatic "Grover voice." :) My mom used to read it to me, and then I used to take it with me in my "babysitting kit" when I was a teenager, and I read it to my babysitting charges. Over and over and over.

The premise of the book is that Grover has heard that there is a MONSTER at the end of the book, and he desperately tries to prevent you, the reader, from reaching the ...more

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Mar 26, 2010

Miss Guided rated it

· review of another edition

I loved reading this book with my younger brother when we were kids. As each of the pages were turned we would get louder and louder reading the parts of Grover. It always got us in trouble with mom and dad, especially on school nights when we were supposed to be quietly reading.
Now that I am older and have had kids of my own, this was one of the first books I tracked down to read to them. It hasn't changed in over 30 years...my husband told us to tone it down.
If you haven't read it...more

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About Jon Stone

Stone graduated from Williams College in 1952. He received a master's degree from the Yale University School of Drama in 1955, at which time he joined a CBS training program. Before helping to create Sesame Street, he worked on the popular children's television show Captain Kangaroo for CBS. He also worked on several other Muppet projects before and during his time on Sesame Street, and was the au...more

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