Go to Sleep, Monster!: A Surprising and Funny Bedtime Story for Kids

by Kevin Cornell

A funny and surprising bedtime story about what’s under the monster under your bed from acclaimed illustrator Kevin Cornell.

Getting George to sleep is a nightmare.
But getting a monster to sleep? That’s an adventure.

A funny and surprising twist on the typical monster-under-your-bed story.

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 2016

About the author

Kevin Cornell spends his days in Philadelphia, drawing made-up things. You know… like a “dog driving a bus”, or a “talking can of beets”. If you ever see a talking can of beets, tell Kevin. He's been trying to figure that one out for years.

He has illustrated several books, websites, and comics, and has been doing it for quite a long time now. There's a ton more work on his old site, if you've a hankering to see more. To see his most current sketches, comics and drawings, check out his instagram.

If you have a book you want Kevin to illustrate, please get in touch with his agent, the distinguished Steve Malk. If you wish to contact Kevin because he's behind on his payments and you need to know where to send the next toe… hmmm… send that to his agent, too.

Reviews

[Jack]

Another fun, alternative take on the traditional "bedtime story", and one that appeals to my inner freak. My kids and I read this one along with Darkness Slipped In by Ella Burfoot as a fun, monster-themed double header before bedtime.

The progressive parent in me loves the alternate themes, while my darkness addict side loves the artwork and general feel of the book.

Seriously, I wish there were bedtimes books like this when I was a kid! Now if I could just find a no-kidding real life edition of the Babadook, I could be a happy man! Not that this one would be read to the kidlets, but man, it sure would be an awesome tome to have!

[Abigail]

When George can't get to sleep because of the monster underneath his bed, his sister Anna tells the frightening creature to go to bed himself. Unfortunately, the monster under the bed is also having trouble getting to sleep, because of the monster underneath the floorboards. That monster, as it turns out, is frightened sleepless by the monster underneath his little room. And so it goes, as each monster approached turns out to be afraid of the monster lower than himself. When Anna, George and the various monsters finally reach the center of the earth, they think they've found the monster responsible - but have they...?

In this sweetly humorous take on the classic "monster under the bed" scenario, author/artist Kevin Cornell relies on one of the tried and true storytelling mechanisms for dealing with nighttime fears: which is to say, the idea that the monsters are also afraid. The innovation here is in having a chain of fear, with each monster fearing the next, and having a final monster whose fear - being alone - is one with which monster and child alike can identify. I enjoyed the story-line here, and found the colorful, almost animation-style artwork appealing. Children who enjoy haunted houses might likewise find the visuals here very engaging. Recommended to anyone looking for new stories dealing with that age-old problem of what is lurking under the bed (or in the dark) whilst one is trying to go to sleep.

[Carrie Griffin]

I read this book seven times in a matter of two weeks. That is how much my kids loved this book. I'll be picking up a copy for my classroom.

[Heidi-Marie]

I like the twist on the monster under the bed story. I really liked that the monsters had a Sesame Street kind of look to them. Made all of them likable, especially learning that each one was afraid of something. And seeing the fears dissipate as each character came to see there wasn't anything to be afraid of. Could definitely work in storytime. Really good for lap-read and read-alone so they can see the illustration details even more.

6/21/17 Used in S preschool theme. With each monster, to help them keep track, I had the kids telling me either the monster's color, or something about the monster if the color was not very distinguishable. They enjoyed it; and one girl guessed a great solution to how to help the last monster which is exactly how the story ended. :-)

[Margaret Chind]

Super silly, vibrant in color. Go to Sleep Monster is a great read for your Halloween shelf but also good for anytime around the bedtime stories hour. Supposed siblings cannot sleep. Anna cannot sleep because George won't turn out the light. He is scared of a monster. Who is scared of a monster. Who is scared of a monster and on and on until they get to the biggest monster of all. In truth the story is cute. While the illustrations would be a bit much for a board book I think the concept of the book would make an excellent bedtime board book. This is fun, a little dark, but in a goofy way.

Review book, honest opinion.

[Samantha]

Brother and sister are getting ready for bed, but George is being kept awake by the monster under his bed. When Anna begins to investigate she finds a series of monsters each keeping the other awake until she confronts the monster who started it all and finds that he use a little company.

Cute monsters + a fun premise= a great read aloud for PreK-2.

[Kelly Green]

Go to Sleep, Monster is a fantasy picture book bedtime story for children aged 4 to 8 years. The book follows the story of two siblings getting ready for bed and getting to the source of the monsters under the bed. I personally loved this story. Instead of your traditional young girl that is scared of monsters at night, Anna takes charge in making sure everyone sleeps comfortably. Anna and her brother George travel deep to the earth's core to ensure that no monsters are doing any scaring. The illustration is fun and doesn't make the monsters look too scary. I also like that instead of being the scariest monster at the end the last monster just wants some company. Anna's character teaches children not to be afraid as she was able to confront an endless amount of monsters with no fear. I think the cover and the inclusion of monsters will cause kids to want to read this story and the plot will keep them intrigued, constantly wondering what monster will be discovered next. I think the story showcases a more lighthearted way to see monsters and does it well.

[Mackenzie Wardle]

I thought this book was very well written and creative. George cannot go to sleep so his sister Anna comes in to tell the monster under the bed to stop scaring him. The monster says that he cannot sleep because the monster under the floor is scaring him. They go to monster under the floor but he cannot sleep either because of the monster under the room. The monster is the room cannot sleep because of the monster under the table. They go to the moister under the house, under the gravel, under the dirt to the monster in the center-most center and then the center of the earth. The monster in the center of the earth is the last monster to stop and see. He is scared to sleep too because he is afraid to be alone. On the next page, all of the monsters and George and Anna are seen sleeping by one another. Finally, everyone is able to stop without being afraid.

[Rachel Crowe]

This book is a book that children of all ages could read. Each pages only have a few words which use repetitive and I feel like that would help many children out. Each page has a monster who is living under each other. They are all scared because none of them can fall asleep due to each of them scaring each other! The kids travel down each of the levels and the little boys sister comes with him to tell all of the other monsters to go to bed and stop scaring her little brother. They get to the center level and they find the final monster! She tells them to stop scaring everyone and she said that she was just terrified of being alone. So in the end the all sleep with each other and they finally get some sleep.

[Esther Westfall]

We loved this book! While it seems like it's a scary book, it's got a really great message at the end. Before we turned to the last couple of pages. I asked my kids what they thought the monster at the center of the earth was afraid of. They assumed that he was afraid of all of the monsters above him, so they were pleasantly surprised that he was only afraid of being alone. And we all thought it was great when everyone curled up together and went to sleep so that none of them would have anything to be afraid of anymore. It's a really cute way to show kids that they don't need to be afraid of the monsters under their bed.

[Mara Halas]

Go to Sleep, Monster! is a great, fun twist to a normal phenomenon of a child having a scary monster under their bed. In this story, though the monsters are all scared. I enjoyed how the monsters didn't have a scary look to them which made all of them likable, especially learning that each one was afraid of something. Along with this, it makes it a great bedtime story for children because the illustrations of the monsters in the books aren't going to scare them. I really enjoyed this story and think kids would love it and it might even help them get over their fear of monsters hiding under their beds.

[Morgan Farley]

This book is a different play on the “monsters under my bed” thought all children tend to have. In this story, the monster under the bed cannot sleep because he’s scared of the monster under him and this continues throughout the whole story. To me, the theme is showing children that it’s okay to have a fear but there’s nothing to be scared of. Everyone has them. As a child, they probably don’t think a monster would be scared of anything. But this book shows that the monster is also scared and the next monster is scared too.

[Villain E]

Fantastic art. Cute story. Not really a calm-down-before-bed book, though.

A boy can't sleep because there's a monster under his bed. So his big sister chews out the monster. Turns out the monster is having trouble sleeping because there's another monster under the floorboards. So the sister chews out that monster. Turns out that monster is having trouble sleeping because there's a monster in the room below them. Etc.

[Mikayla Busse]

I somewhat liked this book. To me, it was kind of boring. Kevin Cornell retells the famous myth of the monster under your bed. George and Anna are brother and sister and discover a chain of monsters under the bed. Each monster is scared of what is under them. I just felt like the story was not interesting enough to hold my attention.

[Eunbi Park]

This is so great book to read for children before they fall asleep. I was also afraid the monster in my closet and under the bed. However, this book introduce all monsters are afraid of somethings friendly like the movie,'Monsters, Inc'. This book is good for various range of ages especially from 4 years to 9 years. This book doesn't have much text and describes the monsters funny and cute.

[Brianna Owoc]

Go to Sleep, Monster is a lovely story of two children exploring the monsters beneath the bed. The illustrations in the story offer more detail for the story. In the middle, the story shortens the sentences creating a shorter read and more suspense for the reader. In the end, the problem is solved and each character is able to go to sleep.

[Chris]

It's tough to go to sleep when there's a monster under your bed. Especially when said monster can't seem to fall asleep because of the monster under the floor. And so it goes with this book with sleepless monsters one under the other...all the way to the Earth's core. It's a cute, non-scary monster book that's just right for bedtime and won't keep kids up all night.

[Jennifer Zamis]

I like that this book gives the monsters a likeable approach to them and even makes them easier to relate to for the children as well. The colors in the illustrations are vivid and eye catching for smaller children during story time. Especially great for Halloween.

[Emmett Griffo]

Themes: monsters, bedtime, bravery, friendship

Great read aloud that gets increasingly more interesting! A perfect length to read before bedtime but not scary. We really liked this book in our house (approved by 3 y/o son)!

[Alyssa Mandell]

This partly cumulative story is about not being able to sleep because of the monster under them. The two children go deeper and deeper underground in order not be scared so they can all go to sleep. Very cute story.

[Ms. Jeane]

Super cute! Also very quick!

[Alyson Fox]

the cuteness! I can't handle! gonna read this to all my lil beans

[Cory]

This just didn't go anywhere, which apparently I wanted.

[Allison Churnside]

Our recent favorite picture book. It's funny, and I love the illustrations. It's better to read a book over and over when I can admire the pictures.

[Librarian Elizabeth]

Great read aloud with a nice twist at the end.

[Garrett]

I thought they would make it to China...

[Robin]

Fun bedtime story for a kid who is a little afraid.

[Rebecca Gomez]

The text and premise is cute, but not very developed. However, the illustrations more than make up for it.

[Erin]

Cute and clever. I wish the illustrations weren't so dark, though. It was hard to make out the setting of each picture and I was confused as to why the house had fallen apart at the end.

[Terra]

Very cute! My daughter really enjoyed it and requested we read it tomorrow night.