School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2-Winnie wants a pet monster. Why not? All of her friends have pet monsters, ranging from Oggs to Blacktopus and Moogs to giant Foffles. Winnie pleads with her papa with "Bambi eyes" to please get one for her. She researches all the things she needs to do to take care of her monster, including walking, feeding, and even picking up "monster poo!" Soon, her skills of persuasion lead her to a visit at the Monsterium, where everything needed for monster care is available, including baby monsters to adopt. Readers learn about the hundreds of monsters available along with their attributes. Papa finds one he likes (sounds like a cute puppy dog, "arf"), and they adopt him. Winnie soon learns that adorable monsters take a lot of work to train, and in a fantastic spread of Winnie never getting any sleep due to her monster never sleeping, the work's cuteness quotient begins to wear thin. Gravel's digital artwork and use of Photoshop and Cintiq graphic tablet create entertaining and engaging characters. The half-title page invites readers to discover how Winnie will get her monster. VERDICT A fun, spirited read-aloud for storytime or classroom use.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.