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Monster Trouble
Key Features Description Nothing frightens Winifred Schnitzel, but she does need her sleep, and the neighborhood monsters won't let her be! Every night they sneak in, growling and belching and making a ruckus. Winifred constructs clever traps, but nothing stops these crafty creatures. What's a girl to do? ( Monsters hate kisses!) The delightfully sweet ending will have every kid - and little monster - begging for an encore. Nothing frightens Winifred Schnitzel, but she does need her sleep, and the neighborhood monsters won't let her be! Every night they sneak in, growling and belching and making a ruckus. Winifred constructs clever traps, but nothing stops these crafty creatures. What's a girl to do? ( Monsters hate kisses!) The delightfully sweet ending will have every kid - and little monster - begging for an encore. Product Details Item #: NTS590653 9780545906531 Paperback Book 32 Pre-K - 1 Lexile® AD580L Guided Reading GR Level L DRA 20 - 24 ACR 3.2 Key Features Item #: NTS590653 9780545906531 Paperback Book 32 Pre-K - 1 Lexile® AD580L Guided Reading GR Level L DRA 20 - 24 ACR 3.2
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First published September 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
December 14, 2016
I was so excited to see a monster book whose protagonist was someone other than a white kid, and I really wanted it to be good. Lucky me, I got what I wanted! Fredrickson makes this rhyming text work perfectly, and Robertson is equally adept at drawing little girls and monsters.
Winifred Schnitzel is a smart, brave, resourceful young girl who wouldn't mind the monster infestation in her room if they would just let her GET SOME SLEEP. After all, nodding off in your ballet class (or into your breakfast) is not great. But when research and trap construction fail, Winifred must find another strategy for chasing away the sleep-depriving creatures. And she does, with an ending that will amuse kids to no end.
Winifred Schnitzel is a smart, brave, resourceful young girl who wouldn't mind the monster infestation in her room if they would just let her GET SOME SLEEP. After all, nodding off in your ballet class (or into your breakfast) is not great. But when research and trap construction fail, Winifred must find another strategy for chasing away the sleep-depriving creatures. And she does, with an ending that will amuse kids to no end.
September 9, 2017
The main reason why I checked this book out was because of the little girl. Spooky picture books with characters of color are kind of hard to come by (unless you know a bunch I'm unfamiliar with, then please feel free to leave them in comments).
So, the book totally delivered. In addition to that my daughter loved it and we've read it several times already. The story is fun and the monsters are creepingly adorable (yes I made that up).
This is certainly a book we will revisit every year.
So, the book totally delivered. In addition to that my daughter loved it and we've read it several times already. The story is fun and the monsters are creepingly adorable (yes I made that up).
This is certainly a book we will revisit every year.
May 5, 2019
Winifred is kept awake every night as monsters visit her bedroom. She's not afraid of them, but all their noise interrupts her sleep. Until she accidentally discovers the one thing they most despise. Story is told in rhyming couplets. The monsters are portrayed visually as cute and colorful, rather than scary. This book earned an extra point for a protagonist who is not only female, but a POC - so rare in monster-themed picture books.
October 20, 2016
I am glad that when I saw this book it caught my eye. I enjoyed reading the book from the beginning to the end. Monster Trouble by Lane Fredrickson is inviting and exciting to read to young children. The language in this book is suitable for young children and even has rhyming in it that makes me think of the book as a poem. The problem and solution in this book is clearly understood to the reader. The fact that Winifred is not able to get any sleep because of the neighborhood monsters is the problem. She then tries everything to get rid of them and nothing works until she accidentally kisses one while is fast asleep and dreaming. This is when she realizes that they hate kisses and she finally knows how to get rid of them. The illustrations are done by Michael Robertson and are just fantastic. It give children a sense of imagination and invites them in as the story is being read. The illustration also go along with the words that are on each page keeping the attention of the reader. Even though the author and illustrator are not represented by the character in the book, this is still a good book to read to children. It is also a really good book to show to children to understand problems and solutions in stories.
November 18, 2018
Winifred Schnitzel is a wonderful protagonist. She's tough, inventive, clever and sweet, and she is never afraid.
The meter and rhyme (almost) always work, and the story flows incredibly well. And I love anything that uses the word 'moot' in proper context.
The illustrations are beautiful, fun and engaging, and I love that Winifred is a girl and a person of color. It's a definite bonus in a sea of books about little boys, mostly white, who usually get the action packed monster stories in children's books.
The meter and rhyme (almost) always work, and the story flows incredibly well. And I love anything that uses the word 'moot' in proper context.
The illustrations are beautiful, fun and engaging, and I love that Winifred is a girl and a person of color. It's a definite bonus in a sea of books about little boys, mostly white, who usually get the action packed monster stories in children's books.
August 4, 2022
Loved that the MC is a poc, I love that it's not your typical bedtime story. The MC loves scary stories, is unafraid of her neighborhood monsters -- her only concern is not being able to sleep. I appreciate that. I don't know how I feel about kissing being the solution to keep monsters at bay, that's just me though.
Real rating → 3.5 (rounded ↑)
Real rating → 3.5 (rounded ↑)
November 15, 2018
This picture book is a DELIGHT!! Wonderful sing-song rhyming couplets and a fun story with cute art. This is the kind of book I would be happy to read night after night to my kids.
November 23, 2019
This is a favorite in our house! Winifred Schnitzel is my hero.
November 13, 2020
Love the rhymes and children will love some of the "rude" words. Perfect for ready alou.
November 13, 2017
This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!
Hello, friends! Our book today is Monster Trouble!, written by Lane Fredrickson and illustrated by Michael Robertson, a funny story about a fearless little girl with an unexpected pest problem.
Winifred Schnitzel is no shrinking flower: she’s a brave little girl who loves spooky stories, high adventure, even scary movies! Unfortunately, this is a great puzzle to her neighborhood monsters, for when they come to spook Winifred at night, she is less than impressed. The only thing those pesky monsters are accomplishing is keeping her awake! Winifred decides to scare the monsters away, and devises several plans using her wits and ingenuity. But after a few failed attempts, she is discouraged and exhausted. Fortunately, there’s one more trick up her sleeve, and it just may be the most effective monster repellent yet!
This was a fun story about overcoming challenges with an awesome girl-power twist! I loved that Winifred was not the least bit scared by her monsters from the get-go, instead facing them with a mindset of problem-solving rather than overcoming fears. It can encourage kids that monsters aren’t things to be scared of, just problems to be dealt with. What’s more, I love that Winifred used her brain and, ultimately, love to take care of her monster problems. The rhyming text flows well and is fun to read, and the illustrations are fun, energetic, and humorous. The length was fine, and JJ liked it a lot! This one is Baby Bookworm approved!
Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!
January 5, 2018
This book is a delight. I was fortunate enough to be gifted Monster Trouble from a friend who knows that as a first year teacher, building a diverse classroom library is a huge priority of mine to provide representation for my students of color. Winifred Schnitzel encompasses some wonderful qualities for little girls to demonstrate in picture books: resourcefulness, determination, bravery and cleverness, and even better that the protagonist isn't yet another white kid! The vocabulary along with the rhyme and meter of this book is entertaining even for adults, and the illustrations are adorable.
July 30, 2019
This book is a rhyming story, and quite sweet on the face of it. I like the not-so-spooky monsters and our brave poc protagonist. Everything about this book is perfect, until it comes to the plot twist. Spoiler alert: The only thing that drives monsters away are kisses.
So guess what our little ghost buster does? Yup. She kisses them to keep them out.
In our self-aware me too era, this just doesn't sit well for a number of reasons. My son even asked why she was kissing the monsters when they didn't want her too. Mixed messages at best. Bad message at worst. Really disappointing.
So guess what our little ghost buster does? Yup. She kisses them to keep them out.
In our self-aware me too era, this just doesn't sit well for a number of reasons. My son even asked why she was kissing the monsters when they didn't want her too. Mixed messages at best. Bad message at worst. Really disappointing.
February 22, 2016
Winifred is not afraid of monsters. She thinks they're actually kinda cute but when they insist on showing up every night how's a girl to get any sleep. As she attempts to keep them away with various ideas she loses sleep and is having a hard time during the day until the night she accidentally discovers their weakness. Really funny look at how important sleep is and how silly monsters really are.
March 31, 2016
Winifred Schnitzel loves all thing scary except when the neighborhood monster show up at bedtime. Cartoonish drawings and bright colors make this frightful topic anything but. Moral: love your demons and they'll go away.
August 12, 2016
The picture of Winifred Schnitzel after several sleepless nights is priceless. As a parent who's been kept up by several little monsters before, I've felt that facial expression on my own face: the one where your eyes can't quite focus and your brain is all foggy.
August 7, 2018
It's an adorable story with a positive message — facing things head on. It offers up the idea that problems can be solved peacefully and friends made of enemies. If only that were more the case in the real world.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...
November 5, 2016
This was a fun monster book!
June 13, 2020
I forgot how cute this is, with actual good rhymes! And at the end isaac shouted “I love kissing!” 🤣
August 27, 2018
Winifred Schnitzel is a funny, imaginative, extraordinary little girl. She’s strong and smart and brave and doesn’t care what society (or any monster) thinks she’s supposed to do or be — she’s not afraid of horror movies, and she’s just as comfortable wielding a sword while playing pirate as she is wearing a tutu during ballet class. She’s also a budding engineer — when monsters start keeping her up at night, she orders a book called Monsters Beware! to help her booby trap her room, but she finds the book lacking and devises an ingenious (and hilarious) booby trap of her own called the “Prickly Bum Chair.”
Unfortunately, the booby traps don’t work. One night while dreaming of puppies, though, Winifred stumbles upon the monsters’ one weakness: they hate kissing. So she puckers up and sends the monsters packing, and she finally gets a well-earned good night’s sleep.
Winifred is a wonderful protagonist — it’s exciting to see a Black girl involved in ballet, a field mostly filled with white girls, and STEM, a field that is predominantly white and predominantly male. It’s also refreshing to see a girl engaging in stereotypical masculine play and being fearless, as she dresses up like a pirate and watches werewolf movies.
That bravery extends to the monsters that show up in her room every night. She’s not afraid of them at all; in fact, she finds them cute. And with good reason: author Lane Fredrickson suggests that they would rather have parties than scare kids, as the monsters play around with silly string and call in deli orders, and Michael Robertson’s art — which resembles Monsters, Inc. with a touch of Where the Wild Things Are — shows that all they really want to do is have a neon wild rumpus.
Monster Trouble! is a funny, sweet book that kids will want to read over and over again, and its heroine is an important representation of a Black girl defying gender and racial expectations. Winifred’s clever attempts to rid herself of the monsters are a lot of fun, and Robertson’s colorful art is engaging and hilarious. Fredrickson’s bouncing rhymes are sure to keep kids entertained and give storytime readers plenty of opportunities to play around with funny voices. The message that monsters are nothing to be afraid of is perfect for younger kids, especially at bedtime. This book is quick and compulsively re-readable, so be ready for a frequent refrain of “AGAIN! AGAIN!” from your own little monsters.
Unfortunately, the booby traps don’t work. One night while dreaming of puppies, though, Winifred stumbles upon the monsters’ one weakness: they hate kissing. So she puckers up and sends the monsters packing, and she finally gets a well-earned good night’s sleep.
Winifred is a wonderful protagonist — it’s exciting to see a Black girl involved in ballet, a field mostly filled with white girls, and STEM, a field that is predominantly white and predominantly male. It’s also refreshing to see a girl engaging in stereotypical masculine play and being fearless, as she dresses up like a pirate and watches werewolf movies.
That bravery extends to the monsters that show up in her room every night. She’s not afraid of them at all; in fact, she finds them cute. And with good reason: author Lane Fredrickson suggests that they would rather have parties than scare kids, as the monsters play around with silly string and call in deli orders, and Michael Robertson’s art — which resembles Monsters, Inc. with a touch of Where the Wild Things Are — shows that all they really want to do is have a neon wild rumpus.
Monster Trouble! is a funny, sweet book that kids will want to read over and over again, and its heroine is an important representation of a Black girl defying gender and racial expectations. Winifred’s clever attempts to rid herself of the monsters are a lot of fun, and Robertson’s colorful art is engaging and hilarious. Fredrickson’s bouncing rhymes are sure to keep kids entertained and give storytime readers plenty of opportunities to play around with funny voices. The message that monsters are nothing to be afraid of is perfect for younger kids, especially at bedtime. This book is quick and compulsively re-readable, so be ready for a frequent refrain of “AGAIN! AGAIN!” from your own little monsters.
December 17, 2017
Winifred Schnitzel (best character name ever) isn't afraid of monsters. That's a good thing too, because at night her bedroom is infested. Her problem is explained succinctly:
>But all of their monsterly mayhem was moot—
>because Winifred Schnitzel thought monsters were cute.
>Still, night after night, all those monsters kept creeping
>into Winifred's room, interrupting her sleeping.
Winifred falls asleep in ballet, in school—even while she's trying to eat and play. So she tries setting up all manner of traps and tricks to discourage them. Nothing works until one night when she gives a monster a big, sleepy kiss and discovers... monsters hate kissing!
This book is adorable. Winifred is adorable. The monsters are adorable. The artistry is fun and bright and easy to look at (and reminds me strongly of Monsters Inc.—a very good thing). And the bouncy, fast-paced rhyming poetry helps anchor kids with autism to the story because it makes the book more predictable.
But I really wish the plotting had been more concrete. For instance, Winifred orders a book called "Monsters Beware!" for ideas. Her first trap, taken from this book, is the "Sticky-String, Small Monster Snare." A bottle is pictured with the word "GLUE" next to a spool of twine and we see the finished product: string stretching across her room like a web. All of this is just too abstract for my kids. Unfortunately there are other examples in the book that are similarly over their heads.
---
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post about great picture books to read around Halloween: http://www.lineupthebooks.com/hallowe...
>But all of their monsterly mayhem was moot—
>because Winifred Schnitzel thought monsters were cute.
>Still, night after night, all those monsters kept creeping
>into Winifred's room, interrupting her sleeping.
Winifred falls asleep in ballet, in school—even while she's trying to eat and play. So she tries setting up all manner of traps and tricks to discourage them. Nothing works until one night when she gives a monster a big, sleepy kiss and discovers... monsters hate kissing!
This book is adorable. Winifred is adorable. The monsters are adorable. The artistry is fun and bright and easy to look at (and reminds me strongly of Monsters Inc.—a very good thing). And the bouncy, fast-paced rhyming poetry helps anchor kids with autism to the story because it makes the book more predictable.
But I really wish the plotting had been more concrete. For instance, Winifred orders a book called "Monsters Beware!" for ideas. Her first trap, taken from this book, is the "Sticky-String, Small Monster Snare." A bottle is pictured with the word "GLUE" next to a spool of twine and we see the finished product: string stretching across her room like a web. All of this is just too abstract for my kids. Unfortunately there are other examples in the book that are similarly over their heads.
---
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post about great picture books to read around Halloween: http://www.lineupthebooks.com/hallowe...
October 29, 2025
My Halloween Highlight this year is Monster Trouble by Lane Fredrickson and Micheal Robertson!
My daughter loves this book because it gave us a clever idea for dealing with the creatures that go bump in the night. Grandma had suggested she pray them away, and I'd told her to ignore them (they are just in your imagination). But Lane Fredrickson gave us something useful here. A funny, magical, charming solution! And I suggest everyone with an imaginative young child buy or borrow this book to find out the answer.
I'd like to give kudos to the illustrator Michael Robertson, not only for bringing these silly, wacky, wonderful monsters to life (without too gross or too scary) but because she chose to make the protagonist a little black girl. He didn't have to. He drew her the way he organically imagined her. I appreciate that this illustrator has a wide varied pallet of characters and a talent for being diversity into his artwork. Check more of his work on his website: https://www.michaelrobertsonillustrat...
The only thing that I dislike about this story is that it comes sooo close to a picture book idea that I've been workshopping for years. I hate to admit it but this one is better. And that's why I've chosen it as it my Halloween Highlight (ten years late).
Hey! I review books. Long books, short books, picture books, old and new books. Check out my blog at: https://pbjellytalez.blogspot.com for picture-book gift ideas, library guides. Also check out the JellyBell Book Club here: https://pbjellybell.blogspot.com/ for ( hopefully) a new perspective on your favorite YA and Adult literature
TTFN, until then
I'll see you on the next page.
My daughter loves this book because it gave us a clever idea for dealing with the creatures that go bump in the night. Grandma had suggested she pray them away, and I'd told her to ignore them (they are just in your imagination). But Lane Fredrickson gave us something useful here. A funny, magical, charming solution! And I suggest everyone with an imaginative young child buy or borrow this book to find out the answer.
I'd like to give kudos to the illustrator Michael Robertson, not only for bringing these silly, wacky, wonderful monsters to life (without too gross or too scary) but because she chose to make the protagonist a little black girl. He didn't have to. He drew her the way he organically imagined her. I appreciate that this illustrator has a wide varied pallet of characters and a talent for being diversity into his artwork. Check more of his work on his website: https://www.michaelrobertsonillustrat...
The only thing that I dislike about this story is that it comes sooo close to a picture book idea that I've been workshopping for years. I hate to admit it but this one is better. And that's why I've chosen it as it my Halloween Highlight (ten years late).
Hey! I review books. Long books, short books, picture books, old and new books. Check out my blog at: https://pbjellytalez.blogspot.com for picture-book gift ideas, library guides. Also check out the JellyBell Book Club here: https://pbjellybell.blogspot.com/ for ( hopefully) a new perspective on your favorite YA and Adult literature
TTFN, until then
I'll see you on the next page.
September 11, 2019
The book titled Monster Trouble by Lane Fredrickson and illustrated by Michael Robertson is a fun read for all ages. This book begins with our spunky character Winifred Schnitzel. Winifred is just your regular kid. She loves adventures, Pirates, and fun, that’s pretty normal. But there is one unique thing about Winifred...she’s not afraid of anything. She loves all thing scary! Werewolves, thunder, and monsters. One night when she was snug in her bed the neighborhood monsters decided to pay her a frightful visit. She tried so many things to get them to go away, but night after night the monsters would come to her room and keep her up all night long. Until one day she’d had ENOUGH!!
Monster Trouble is a great read for elementary-aged children, it is full of adventure and problem-solving. The way that I would incorporate this book into my classroom would be to let every child make a monster out of google-eyes, pipe cleaners, and pom-poms. Then talk to them about differences. I would say “each of our monsters looks different but they are still the same because they are monsters”. Then as a snack, we would eat cheese and mini bagels like the monsters. I love this book and would definitely recommend this to others.
Monster Trouble is a great read for elementary-aged children, it is full of adventure and problem-solving. The way that I would incorporate this book into my classroom would be to let every child make a monster out of google-eyes, pipe cleaners, and pom-poms. Then talk to them about differences. I would say “each of our monsters looks different but they are still the same because they are monsters”. Then as a snack, we would eat cheese and mini bagels like the monsters. I love this book and would definitely recommend this to others.
September 8, 2020
What do monsters fear most? Well kissing! At least that's what Winifred discovers when they bother her to the point of exhaustion. The young dark skinned girl, isn't afraid of these disgusting, furry, and funny creatures in the least, but after keeping her awake with their antics each night, it begins to affect her day. At first, Winifred consults the Monsters Beware! guide, building mouse trap like contraptions. Then as luck would have it, she uncovers their weakness. With its snappy rhyming verse, and silly, colourful cartoonish design, Monster Trouble! will work well for a bedtime story, or a storytime group. Kids can be encouraged to guess what the solution will be, and in the process it may give them some hints on how to scare off their own.
October 31, 2018
What a fun book to do for a monster-ish filled day! This book is great because it isn't too scary at all, which I worry about when choosing monster books for toddlers. The rhyming is fun, and there are all sorts of fun words that you don't usually find in regular picture books like "plunder," "mayhem," and "moot." I love the colorful monsters, too! I would stop and ask the kids what colors they see on each page, and they had fun yelling the colors out. The letter of the day was T, so we talked about the word "Trouble" before starting the story. I would definitely use this for another storytime!
August 23, 2017
First of all, any heroine named Winifred Schnitzel is a winner. Second, trying Limburger cheese as a monster repellant is perfect.
This is a rhyming book. I'm always impressed when authors do this while incorporating atypical words. The story is charming. But what makes this one succeed is the illustrator. We love Winifred and the monsters. Look at this girl's pluck
Definitely a keeper.
This is a rhyming book. I'm always impressed when authors do this while incorporating atypical words. The story is charming. But what makes this one succeed is the illustrator. We love Winifred and the monsters. Look at this girl's pluck
Definitely a keeper.
September 18, 2018
Winifred Schnitzel is a crafty young girl who is an imaginative character that children can relate to. When I was reading the story, the way the story is written reminded of Doctors Seuss' story How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In How the Grinch Stole Christmas during the scene where the Grinch was stealing the decorations, relates to how the story is written and told. The book's illustrations show different types of monsters that a child could imagine. Overall, the book had a cute ending by solving her problem with a kiss.
May 20, 2018
Age: Preschool-Kindergarten
Winifred cannot sleep through the night with all the monster attempts to scare her. Good thing she thinks they're cute, but they're still quite loud. With the help of the book Monsters Beware! Winifred tries all the monster-proofing she can but finds a simple, loving solution is the best monster-deterrent:
With a romping, read-aloud rhyme, Fredrickson provides a fun twist ending for this bedtime story.
Winifred cannot sleep through the night with all the monster attempts to scare her. Good thing she thinks they're cute, but they're still quite loud. With the help of the book Monsters Beware! Winifred tries all the monster-proofing she can but finds a simple, loving solution is the best monster-deterrent:
With a romping, read-aloud rhyme, Fredrickson provides a fun twist ending for this bedtime story.
October 11, 2022
Oh my goodness, the illustrations were absolutely AMAZING!!! And the story is super cute, too. Rhyming text tells you all about Winnifred Schnitzel who is not at all afraid of monsters, but they do keep her up at night with all their hissing and drooling. She finds herself sleeping through ballet class and snoozing through lunch. Something simply must be done to get rid of her monster problem! The solution is a bit unorthodox, but a lot of fun. This will make a great story time read aloud!
June 22, 2017
Cute story with a little African-American girl named Winifred who actually likes monsters but they won't leave her alone. She tries to set a trap for them but it doesn't work. Finally she discovers their weakness - they are scared of kisses. Fun story and funny illustrations. Recommended for K-2.
January 17, 2018
I like this book a lot. It's funny, inventive, and very cute. The kids I read it to always love it. Winifred solves her monster problem by kissing the monster who hate it. I always make sure to talk briefly about how though this is how Winifred solves her problem, in real life, we shouldn't kiss anything or anyone who doesn't want to.
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