How to Teach Your Monster to Read

by Christianne Jones, Katya Longhi (illustrator)

A young child can’t wait to teach her pet monster to read. However, the stress is just too much, and her monster runs away. Not to be discouraged, the child uses clues from word families to find her monster. This silly picture book playfully introduces young prereaders to phonemic awareness skills, supporting them on their journey to literacy.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2025

Reviews

[Amy Dalin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an elementary librarian and I cannot wait to get a copy of this for our library! Our kindergarteners and first graders love rhyming and this book is absolutely perfect for teaching word families! The pictures in this book are very colorful and keep the reader engaged. The monster and girl are the sweetest and I love that she is trying her best to help her monster! Can’t wait to bring it to our library

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given, and my opinions are my own.

I was actually shocked with how much I loved this book. Having worked in early childhood, I have read countless 'I can read' books, and most are most are just blah. This one, however, had a cute story to read to the kids, while at the same time including all the word families in cute illustrations in story. It includes every single word family.

Can't recommend this book so enough!

[Teri-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a former teacher I can say that this is a good book for both parents and preschools to have and share with their little ones. The illustrations, by Katya Longhi, are bright and amusing. The storyline introduces the idea of word families painlessly, and plays around with rhymes in a way that encourages children to guess what word is coming next. There are lists of word families scattered through the pages, which can be ignored the first few times you read this, but later will encourage more wordplay. And, at the back of the book there are more pictures along with a simple game adults can play with the children to explore these families further. I recommend this book to anyone who works with young children or has them at home. It's fun and educational!

[chelsea reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Teach Your Monster to Read is such a fun and cute read! I can see how this book would be helpful to those learning about word families. How to Teach Your Monster to Read would be perfect for early learning teachers, librarians, or parents.

The rhyming is really engaging and captivating. The illustrations are beautiful. I found the characters relatable and fun to read about too- I was really concerned for the monster!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an adorable and fun book! As a pre-k teacher I can absolutely imagine reading it to my students and them enjoying it! My favorite part of teaching is literacy. I highly enjoy reading and teaching my students to read. I love the illustrations in this book. They are bright and engaging. When I read to my students, I love using books where they can try to fill in a rhyme and this book is designed for that. Some children might feel scared or intimidated about learning to read and this book addresses those fears as the monster in it feels just that way. The little girl, on the other hand, loves to read and wants to ease her monster’s worries. As she hunts for where he has disappeared to, she creates rhymes and we see in the illustrations, other words that also rhyme with that. This book is a fun way to not only read, but to teach my students some new rhymes and have them help me come up with others. I will definitely put this book on my wish list to purchase for my classroom!
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

[Joey-Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Capstone And Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

This is such an incredible rescorce for learners of reading, it’s a perfect guide for parents to help them start learning many words and in a shorter time. This book provides so many useful tips and hints, all alining with a very fun story about a girl who loves reading and her run away monster that hates it.

I really enjoyed that every page was interactive for the children reading, they can really learn the words as they are being shown as it’s done in a simplistic but effective way. The use of usually three lettered family words that rhymed or sounded the same was great fun, and each page had some.

The monster was adorable. As was the girl within the story, the story is a really fun read and has a great progression as it goes along. The illustrations are really sweet to look at and captured the story really well.

The back of the book also provides even more opportunities to help teach young readers which I love that even more was included. I highly recommend adding this to use to help teach children reading its done in a simple but very effective way.

[Carlina Kinch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank the author, the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of being able to review this adorable book with my kids, I really appreciate it!

My kids really liked this book (8 and 10) my youngest loved it the most! He really got into reading it himself and they both loved the pictures and the story. As a mom I really loved this book. Through a by-product of medical issues, he's a little behind his friends when it comes to reading. But he devoured this book. This was exactly what I hoped this book would be though! It's got the most beautiful, fun, and engaging pictures, and the details are everything. I really loved how this lined up to helped the kids guess on what happened next by thinking of sight words that would fit and I really loved the sight word lists to help them think as well!

I may not have am educators experience, but I do believe this would be a fantastic resource book and book in general for any classroom for grades kinder to three at least in Canada!

Thank you so much from the bottoms of our hearts for this adorable book, we really appreciate it!

[Kay Hertz · Rating 5 out of 5]

BLUF: Great introduction to English, fun rhyming for the littles, I think even us parents re-learned a thing or two!

Overall: 5🌟
Lesson: 5📍
Illustration: 5 🖌️

Mom's Review:
While the story visually featured the monster significantly less than the Traveling Book Kids had hoped, it was still a great lesson for "A" to review some of the skills learned in the past school year and for "C" to start thinking about words, rhyming and more.

Super cute illustrations round out the story, and the reluctance to learn letters and read could certainly be softened or decreased a little by this story.

"A's" Review
It was really fun to see the same things I learned last year in school in this book! I got to read the whole thing, had fun going over the words with "C" and trying to find the Monster!

"C's" Review
I loved trying to guess new words that rhymed in the book! I can't read the words yet, but I could still think of words that matched the [prompts].

Dad's Review
(Pending)

(Full Traveling Book Family reviews to come!)

Christianne Jones, Capstone Editions, & NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

All reviews are our own

[Shan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've actually never read a book specifically about word families (rhyming), so this book was definitely refreshing! One of the best choices that was made in the creation of this book was the lists of various word families perfectly placed within each drawing. I loved seeing the connection between the writing and these lists because it definitely helps young readers learn the lesson even better. It's clear that the author knew this and applied it flawlessly to this fun book. Another great thing about this book was the monster best friend. He's so adorable and such a fun character, and I know for certain that kids are going to fall in love with him immediately (they will also likely fall in love with reading just as the monster started to do). Lastly, the story and how the word families was tied into it was awesome and very entertaining. This book is literally perfect all-around - bravo!

[Manda · Rating 5 out of 5]

With rhyming text and charming illustrations, a young girl’s monster finds learning to read an intimidating prospect. What is a scared monster to do? Throw away the books and then hide! But his best friend is determined to show him that learning to read with word families is fun and not at all scary.

Written for ages 5-7, this book is the perfect introduction to word families for pre-readers and also imparts reassurance to children with worries about learning to read. The activities at the back of the book provide an engaging way to reinforce the phonetic awareness skills introduced in the story. The engaging format, reassurance, and low pressure creates a book that helps relieve the anxiety of learning such an important new skill.

I received an early digital copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Madison Doney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christianne Jones does it again! How to Teach Your Monster to Read is the perfect story for teaching children about reading and word families. Throughout the story, the young child is trying to teach their monster to read, but amongst the stress of this task, they scare away their monster. In order to find the monster, the young child must use different word families to track down where the monster could be.

I absolutely loved reading How to Teach Your Monster to Read! Word families are integral to learning how to read and write. I can't wait to add this story to my classroom library!

Thank you Net Galley and Capstone Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of How to Teach Your Monster to Read!

[Charley Goodyear · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a preschool teacher who is currently studying the science behind learning to read, I have been looking for stories that encourage the listener to jump in and interact with the story. How to Teach Your Monster to Read does this great with its use of word families. It sets up the stage for the children to guess the word that is coming next based off context clues and rhymes. Once you finish the book, there are extra games at the end to keep the learning going. I also thoroughly loved the illustrations. I cannot wait to get a physical copy to use in my school.


Thank you to Capstone and Netgalley for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Capstone through NetGalley.
Jones seamlessly slips word families information into this story of a young girl teaching her monster to read. We see the monster become discouraged and angry when information is shared too quickly. Then the girl sets out to find her friend using various word family words to seek their location. I love the signs blending in with the illustrations. Finally, both are ready to share and learn. Don't miss the word family challenges and other information at the end of the book. Young families will enjoy this book and have fun playing games with words and reading.

[Reading Adventures · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creative way to introduce word families to our little ones who are learning to read. This story follows a young friend who is trying to teach her pet monster how to read. When it seems too hard to learn her monster runs and hides. She uses clues from word families as clues to help find him. The rhyming text creates a flowing, story that is easy to follow. Fun illustrations help us to see the words in action. I loved this book. It was a great addition to our homeschool. Making learning fun, I am a huge fan of any book that makes learning fun. This would be a
Great addition to any classroom.

Enjoy with your family.

 

 

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute! It starts off with the monster not wanting to read and wanting to get rid of the books. The girl in the story starts by saying that she got carried away which in turn caused the monster to become overwhelmed and not want to read anymore. The monster runs away and the little girl looks everywhere for him. The monster later shows up with all of the books he threw away and at the end, they finally learn to read together.

This book will definitely help kids learn many different sounds and words

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A playful but informative story that helps children with their phonemic awareness. When our protagonist attempts to teach her monster how to read, the monster is NOT having it and runs away! Can she save the day and find her monster by using her knowledge of word families and rhymes?

With vibrant illustrations and a silly story to match, this is sure to keep a child's attention while teaching valuable skills to set them up for successful reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be SPRINTING to get this in print once it's published—this is gold.

Even though my son is only 2ish, I don't want to risk not having this on hand in the next few years. I had totally forgotten about the concept of word families until this book :') What an adorable presentation of the idea.

The overarching story of her monster's fear is also as adorable as it is valuable.

& the illustrations? ADORABLE!

A must for our lil family bookshelf.

{Thank you bunches to Christianne Jones, Katya Longhi, Capstone Editions and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for my honest review!}

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Teach Your Monster to Read - My girls (7 and 4) loved the rhyming and the list of word families on each page. They had a lot of fun guessing the next word and loved the sweet relationship that the little girl had with her monster friend. They also thought the monster was "super cute". This was too “easy” for my 7 yr old but I thought it was what I needed for my 4 yr old who is starting to “read”. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#HowtoTeachYourMonstertoRead #NetGalley

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I requested this from NetGalley to keep my little kiddos entertained at the Gymnastics gym, and they loved it. The "word families" or rhyming was really fun for them and we found some new fun rhymes for our nightly "down by the bay" before bed.

The illustrations were also on point. My 4 yos (twins) like to "read" from the pictures, and they clearly could read and comprehend the story from the illustrations.

[Ellie Schaben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Christianne Jones for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is adorable! I’m a huge reader and am hoping to facilitate an environment where I can help kids in my life love reading too. This book helps take some of the anxiety off of learning in a fun way! The illustrations are great, and I loved the word family charts spread throughout the book that would help facilitate conversation outside of the text.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an adorable story about a little girl who tried a little too hard to teach her monster to read and had to practice patience, kindness, and empathy along the way. This is a great story for little learning to read. The illustrations are engaging and eye catching, and I suspect my students will relate to both the girl and her monster. I’ll be recommending this for our school libraries and to my teacher and parent friends.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

[Sudeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a winner with my toddler (almost 3), and we've enjoyed multiple readings together.As a parent, I love how the short, simple sentences and minimal text per page support early literacy development. The story maintains just the right level of complexity - simple enough for beginners to understand but engaging enough to keep them interested. The vocabulary also does a nice job of reinforcing phonemic awareness. Strong recommendation for families with young readers.

[TAreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOW TO TEACH YOUR MONSTER TO READ is one of my favourite rhyming picture books of the year! The text is simple, fun and takes the story forward! I also love how Christianne Jones writing keeps the reader engaged.

Katya Longhi's illustrations are beautiful, detailed and there are even hints to see the course of time of this story. The character designs are lovely and the colors bright!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl decides to help her monster ( younger sibling) learn to read. She looks up word families and tries to find her monster. She has lists and games but he isn't having it. But by the end the situation is resolved with lots of lists and ideas for a new reader to try. Makes reading with child fun and trying out the lists of word families. I wish I had this book when I was teaching younger grades students to read.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cute book! I read this to my 3 and 5 year old daughters, and they both loved it. The pictures were engaging for my 3 year old, and the rhymes were intuitive enough that my 5 year old was able to confidently finish the sentences. As a school psychologist, I love the age appropriate way that the word families were presented and would happily recommend this to any emergent reader.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mother of a 5yo and 8yo here and we LOVED this book! This is such a fun rhyming children's book and anything that promotes reading is an added bonus! Looking forward to finding other books by Christianne Jones to read with the kids.

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone Publishing for this eARC!

[Jakki (BizzyBookNook) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is ridiculously cute. My kids are in first and second grade this year and this was a really fun way to practice some of the skill that they have learned in the last year. I loved the message of how things can seem hard and overwhelming but can be better if you have someone to help and guide you. We also really loved the illustrations and how fun and immersive to the story they were.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a monster who’s afraid to learn to read after their human friend played teacher a little too well. The book goes over word families to show how words rhyme and the book does rhyme. It’s the entire point of it. However, while the book rhymes the cadences funky. There are pages that work better than others.

[Yutong · Rating 5 out of 5]

My brother loved this book!
Cute, full of nice designs, and don't forget the word families. Quite educational, and if my brother loved it, kindergarteners definitely will
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

[Amethyst Maxey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC. This was such a fun and well written book. The rhyming was spot on. It was educational for children to learn about word families. The illustrations were fun as well. My son enjoyed this book.