Dear Big, Mean, Ugly Monster

by Ruth Berglin

Joe is afraid of the monster that lives under his bed until they exchange letters and learn surprising things about one another.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 2005

Reviews

[Gizelle]

In the, “Dear Big, Mean, Ugly Monster” the main character, Joe, is afraid of the mean monster that lives under his bed. The monster takes the blanket away when Joe’s cold and overall scares him during the night. Joe then comes up with an idea of getting rid of the monster himself. He writes a letter to him with a lot of exclamation marks and mean words to let the monster know that he is serious and wants him to go away. The monster then discovers this letter under the bed and decides to write him back. Every morning, Joe would receive a letter from SAM explaining why he was under the bed. SAM stays under the bed to hide and because it is safe, the times that Joe’s blanket is snatched, is because SAM used it to protect himself. They end up becoming friends through their love for books. At the end, the get together for a slumber party and eat monster cookies.
It’s a cute story that shows the importance of working out a conflict through communication rather than through violence. The author does a great way of showing the importance of friendship in a children’s book. The illustrations focuses more on the child and the monster. A lot of green and blues are used throughout the book, making it a fun and exciting book. Overall, I liked the book for its theme and the moral throughout the book.

[Aimee]

Joe is a little boy that is not afraid of anything, except for the monster that is living under his bed. In this book Joe decides to write his monster a letter telling him to “Go Away!”

This silly book will bring back memories of a being a child afraid of what is under the bed. Teachers could use this book to show their students the proper way to write a letter. Not only is this book something that will excite and entertain children it can also be used in writing workshop. The little boy writes letters to the monster living under his bed and the monster writes him back. This book shows how words can be used nicely or not, and what different punctuation means to a reader.

[Lillian Collier]

This story features a child who confronts his fear of the monster under the bed. This can be good to reccomend to families, as a discussion in class of fears, or as a model of writing a letter to another imaginary creature.

[Jeany Choi]

cute book helps kids not be so scared of monsters