Unlike Other Monsters

by Audrey Vernick, Colin Jack (Illustrator)

Overview

Zander is a monster. Monsters don't have friends. They prefer to scare children and eat their raisin bread alone. Then one day Zander meets a bird, and the unexpected happens. They start to spend time together, and Zander is reminded of how he's unlike other monsters. But does the fact they share secrets and hang out mean this is a fledgling friendship? And what will the other monsters think?

Award-winning author Audrey Vernick tackles the sometimes awkward but always exhilarating experience of making a new friend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423199595
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	07/12/2016
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Audrey Vernick is the author of over twenty books for young readers, including Unlike Other Monsters, Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?, First Grade Dropout, and Scarlet's Tale, as well as Bob, Not Bob! and Dear Substitute, which she cowrote with Liz Garton Scanlon. She received a 2019 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. When she feels drippy and gross, she likes to snuggle with her dog, who is not named Bob. Audrey writes from her home near the ocean, and you can find her online at www.audreyvernick.com.

Colin Jack is a story artist at Dreamworks Animation and has illustrated several children's book including Toads on Toast, winner of the Best Children's Books of the Year from the Bank Street Children's Book Committee, 1 Zany Zoo by Lori Degman, and If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur, by Linda Bailey.

Editorial Reviews

2016-04-13
A young monster breaks a taboo against friendship—kind of.Zander's a normal monster (except for having a sister who's a fairy—a strange detail that's part of the book's deadpan whimsy). And like a normal monster, he doesn't have friends, though the illustrations imply he longs for connection. However, there's apparently no injunction against fairies having friends, and his sister has plenty. Instead, Zander enjoys normal monster activities such as scaring children (which the illustrations hilariously suggest fills him with a wicked glee) and...surfing. While surfing, Zander notices a bird watching him. They silently greet each other with nods and points of the chin for a couple days until Zander invites the bird to the sand, whereupon the other monsters notice and mock Zander about his "friend." Zander denies the friendship, and the hurt-looking bird wings away...but returns the next day. With information gleaned from his sister about friends, the next time he's mocked, Zander decides that he and the bird aren't friends—they don't do everything his sister and her friends do (like "give money to kids who've lost teeth")—they just enjoy spending time together. Jack's colorful, humorous art makes for active illustrations and engaging characters, aptly complementing Vernick's gently speculative text. The book ends without explicit acknowledgment of Zander's friendship with the bird or his desire for closeness, allowing readers to digest the message.A quirky friendship story with lots of humor. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews