Dark Night
By Dorothee de Monfried
Grades 1-3
3 Stars
A small boy is frightened by ferocious animals in the forest and inadvertently finds himself in the house of a rabbit. The boy and the rabbit put on a monster costume, frighten the scary animals, and get safely to the boy’s house.
The cartoonish pictures and the playful storyline make this a fun read. A small boy and a mere rabbit outwit and frighten away a tiger, lion, and crocodile. There are many quirky details that made me smile, like the fact that the rabbit’s home in the hollow tree is equipped with a sink, table, and plenty of hot chocolate. The mask that the rabbit wears is really scary… it looks a little demonic, but this is balanced out by the fact that you can see the boy’s eyes through their robe (the rabbit is riding on the boy’s shoulders as they walk through the forest), and they are comically large and frightened. The story comes full circle when the lion, tiger, and crocodile seek shelter from the scary monster at the boy’s house, only to have the door answered by the scary monster aka the boy and the rabbit wearing their disguise. 
I shared this book with a student who I work with. She is not a strong reader, but was able to tell me the entire story by going on a picture walk with me beforehand. The fact that she was able to predict the storyline beforehand gave her confidence and helped her to decode unknown words, which ultimately helped her overall comprehension of the book. She also thought it was a funny story!
The Dangerous Alphabet
By Neil Gammon
Illustrated by Gris Grimly
Grades 4-8
5 Stars
This alphabet book follows two children and their pet gazelle through what appears to be the underground sewer empire of monsters and thugs. The illustrations are both humorous and creepy and show the boy character and the gazelle trying to rescue the girl character who has been kidnapped. She and numerous other children are tied up, in shackles, about to be cooked in a pot, and are in the company of nightmarish creatures and monsters. The story is told in thirteen rhyming couplets with vocabulary that would challenge most grade schoolers, but is interesting enough for them to make it worth their while to figure out their meaning. For instance, the E and F sections read, “E’s for evil that lures and entices; F is for fear and its many devices.” The picture shows the female character being lured away by a group of creepy men with baskets and pockets full of candy. The following picture shows the boy character with his wooden sword raised, charging off to save the girl, passing by children trapped in the mouth of a monster. This book is definitely a little bit scary, and I might not share it with younger elementary students, but it is fun and engrossing. I read it three or four times and am not entirely sure that I caught all of the inside jokes and little side stories. This is a terrific book that I think would either frighten or knock the socks off upper elementary school kids.
There Was an Old Monster!By Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley
Grades K-2
4 Stars
This is a spin-off of the Little Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly story. A monster swallows various bugs and other creatures, until he is eventually swallowed by a lion. This book was created by Rebecca Emberley, with help on the illustrations from her father Ed. Her daughter, Adrian turned the text into a song which you can hear at: www.scholastic.com/oldmonster . The illustrations seem to be made of paper collages. They are bright and playful. The text has a fun rhythm and the repeating phrases make this a more manageable read for new and/or struggling readers.
I think that the song download really makes this book a more enjoyable read. Once I listened to the song, the rhythm stuck with me, which makes the entire experience a lot more fun. I also think that after listening to the song a few times, struggling readers will remember the words to the text and be able to read the book independently.
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