Go Away, Big Green Monster!

by Ed Emberley

What has a bluish-green nose, sharp white teeth, and big yellow eyes?

It's Big Green Monster!

But don't be frightened. Turn the pages of this die-cut book and watch him appear. Then, when you're ready to show him who's in charge, just turn the pages and make him disappear.

With more than one million copies sold, this classic interactive book that has been helping children chase away nighttime fears for 25 years is perfect for Halloween—and all-year round!

Caldecott Award-winning author-illustrator Ed Emberley has created an ingenious way for children to overcome bedtime frights. His groundbreaking book about mastering fear and emotion through play and imagination has been a bestselling favorite for decades and feels as fresh and innovative today as it did in the early nineties when it first came out.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Monsters, Halloween, Fiction, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

American artist and illustrator, best known for children's picture books.

Reviews

[Amy Bruestle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this when i was in daycare as a kid, and i recently found it at a little free library! I was so excited to bring it home and read it to my little girl, she loved it!

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the idea of this book and the pattern it follows :)

[Krissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to change the rating to 5 stars. Since this is the 3rd night in a row my son insisted on me reading it to him I figured he must love it.

[Sita_belen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Editado* 2018

Este año vuelvo a tener un primero en el colegio y les conté de nuevo este cuento, la verdad es que me encanta, ellos piensan que les va a dar mucho miedo y al final les divierte mucho, claro que yo exagero mucho el storytelling y les hago participar de la historia porque el libro en sí solo enseña las partes de la cara y los colores. Aún así lo recomiendo mucho a esas edades.
Se lo leí a mi Alba para ensayar un poco antes de contarlo en el colegio y le gustó tanto que tuve que leérselo 4 veces esa tarde, ahora es un imprescindible cada día en casa.

Editado

Este es el libro que les he contado a mi alumnos por el día de Halloween, recomendado por una compañera de inglés que tuve en otro cole hace varios años.
He de decir que ha sido un éxito total, no por provocar miedo, todo lo contrario, ha resultado ser muy divertido.

Con el puedes trabajar las partes de la cara y los colores en inglés. Y, por supuesto, el miedo. Además, invita a los alumnos a participar en la lectura, preguntándoles en cada página si ya están asustados o animándoles a que te ayuden a hacer desaparecer al monstruo.

Por otro lado, es un libro que se ve que está muy trabajado por maestros/as en otros colegios, ya que en la red puedes encontrar una gran batería de actividades, canciones, videos...

Lo recomiendo principalmente para infantil y primer ciclo de primaria.

Happy halloween!

[Noelle Jensen, Age 11 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it again! That was a very short book, so we can read it again. Read it again.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1992, and then republished in this revised edition in 2005, author/illustrator Ed Emberley's Go Away, Big Green Monster is a classic reassurance tale for young toddlers. Describing the various features of the eponymous green monster, from his big yellow eyes to his red mouth with its sharp white teeth, the text is paired with vividly colorful artwork, created using bright hues in simple shapes, on a deep black page. There are die-cuts, that allow the monster's face to slowly be "built" up, as the pages turn. Midway through the book, the narrator declares that the big green monster doesn't scare him, and slowly he is disassembled again...

With his simple "build up and then take down" narrative, Emberley captures the fear that monsters (and the idea of monsters) can evoke in young children, while empowering those same children to conquer their fear, by giving them the power (at least in the book) to banish said monsters. The artwork and book design are incredibly well done, perfectly matched with the text, and perfectly capturing the build up/take down narrative. It's easy to see why this one has become such a contemporary classic! My only question, after finishing the book, is about the "revisions" mentioned on the colophon. What distinguishes this 2005 edition from the original 1992 one? I'm not sure I feel motivated enough to track down an original edition, but I did wonder. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories that address fears of monsters in a creative and artistic way.

[Evelyn Saenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
is a book of cut out pages that page by page reveal a monster and then make it disappear. The simple cuts and the bold colors appeal to both young children and older artists and because of this, is a delight to read to groups of children or individually.

I have used Go Away, Big Green Monster! for story hour both in the US and in Costa Rica with children as young as 3 and as old as 8th grade with marvelous responses. There are always requests to Read it again!

For ideas and activities to accompany Go Away, Big Green Monster! check out my Go Away Big Green Monster Unit Study.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really clever use of die-cuts that also adapts spectacularly as a flannel board. Use for dealing with fear: dismantle your fear layer by layer, see that it's not that bad, and remember, "don't come back -- until I say so!"

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had to compile a list of great read aloud books, 'Go Away, Big Green Monster!' would easily make the cut. Fun, interactive and engaging, this book is a must read with any young child. As a kindergarten teacher, it was always a go-to and the preschool students I read to frequently request this read every time I see them. Quick tip: don't be afraid to let the kids scream and shout, it only makes the book more fun!!

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the perfect children's book. It takes something they're afraid of—and extremely interested in—and gives them power over it. Plus it teaches colors, and it is repetitive enough for a beginning reader to pick up on it quickly.

I wish I had this book when I was five.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully written with interactive illustrations for 1-2 year olds; older children may find it too childish.

[Reem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go away big green monster is a children picture book that delivers a good massage for little kids to chase away their nighttime fears. The book is die-cut book where the kids could turn the pages to watch how the big green monster grows. For example, the author starts with eyes on the first page then the eyes plus a long blue nose; and so on, until the face of the monster is fully complete. After that, the remaining pages of the story is about the scary features of the monster starting to disappear to show the kids that the monster is not big enough to scare them. I would like to give the story 5 stars, because the idea of designing the book is awesome and it’s consistent with what the author wants to deliver. To talk about the design, the book is glossy where the paper used in the book is shiny and smooth. The author used a black as master color for the book with red, green, yellow, and purple for the monster face which made the book lower in colors value. Also, the book has half-title page with only title and a fine print page on the right-hand side. The text box is printed below with a large white font in all pages. Overall, the book is great for kids and it will help them to control their nighttime fears of monsters.

[Zina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable but scary book. The book has cut outs that create details of a monsters face that the child sees. The pages are black and each page adds a specific colorful detail like yellow eyes, bluish-green nose, red mouth, white teeth and green face, squiggly ears, purple hair. The book tells children not to be afraid of monsters and to use their words to communicate. In the book the child tells the monster "you don't scare me," and "Go away"and "Don't come back."I think children will enjoy the surprise element of whats next in the book. I also think they may be scared to read this book by themselves.

[Taneika Miliam]

Teach- to -Self Connection and Text- to -Teaching

I enjoyed reading this book. This book reminds me of my children being afraid to go , or even wake up from having a bad dream . I could also read this book in my classroom because there are several students that has confirmed that they are afraid of monsters. I would come up with strategies to help the students conquer their fear of monsters. I would use construction paper cut into different shapes for the children to create their own monster. I would also tie the lesson to the book Where The Wild Things Are?

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books for story time. I use it every year for my Monster program. 1/08

Used this for my Halloween Story Time. I need to see if we can purchase another copy the one I got was a bit beat up. 10/31/12

Requested and read this year in Story Time. 10/29/13

Used as last book in Preschool Story Time

[Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books to read to my 2 year olds! This was a book you could keep reading over and over and still love! It helped me teach my class how to get rid of the scary monsters they'd see. It also assisted in getting some of my more non vocal kids talking. ^_^

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a great retelling exercise, especially if it's adapted into a flannelboard. The 4 year olds basically aced the reverse order without much prompting. The younger ones loved shouting "go away!"

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have that book in the "always dependable for absorbed listeners" pile of my mental rating of picture books.

Jude requested this be read to him 5/4/23. I think he really liked it.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4 year old daughter has had me read this to her about a ga-zillion times. She absolutely loves it. And I've gotta say.... it's pretty cute ;)

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great for a group storytime or bedtime story. This book teaches children colors as well as sequence. Very simple but young children will love this.

[Andd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children love to read this interactive book.

[Jeridel Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's a book reminiscent of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

[Danny Siordia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is to help not fear anything like monsters and it was crazy .I read this book with a cat and hes a lion now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, but fun, picture book where each page makes something disappear and turn into something else.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Virtue: courage

[Kristina Jean Lareau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just perfection as an interactive story time read aloud that adhere's to Molly Bang's concepts of picturebook art perfectly.

[Ameryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucas loved this (3 years).

[Kristen Dutkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, interactive idea for a children's book so our little ones can chase away the big scary monsters!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storytimes about colors, Halloween, monsters, conquering our fears.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't quite as clever as Tickle Monster, but the big bright visuals and the short text make this an excellent read-aloud (an Iris favorite AND great for storytimes).