5 Picture Books About Not-So-Scary Monsters

If Your Monster Won’t Go to Bed, by Denise Vega and Zachariah Ohora
The big, furry, multi-colored monster who stars in this funny book looks completely huggable thanks to Zachariah Ohora’s bright, energetic illustrations. The only thing that’s frightening about him is trying to get him to obey his bedtime. The little girl who owns him advises kids not to ask their parents for help. “They know a lot about putting kids to bed, but nothing about putting monsters to bed.” She cautions against doing the Monster Stomp, which will just ignite a dance party, or having him count sheep, which will just make him hungry. Instead, give him a glass of calming bug juice, a cold bath, and plenty of toys. You might turn into such a successful monster whisperer who all the ghouls in the neighborhood turn up for help.

That’s Not the Monster We Ordered, by Richard Fairgray, Terry Jones, and Tara Black
When the kids in this story see all the great things that their neighbor’s dashing and buff green monster can do, they pester their mom until she agrees they can order one too. But while other monsters in the neighborhood can roar, play soccer, and mow the lawn, the one the narrators order seems defective. He picks his nose, plays practical jokes, and eats a lot. But when the family finally decides to ship him back, they realize they can’t. “Sometimes the monster you order and the monster you get might not be the same,” they conclude, “but sometimes that’s even better, because that monster might just be the monster you need.”

Stop Following Me, Moon!, by Darren Farrell
A big bear spends the day pillaging other people’s food, but then gets freaked out by the way the moon seems to follow him that night. It’s almost like a beam of guilt peeking up over the mountains to shine a spotlight on him. He orders it, “Get your own food Moon, this is mine!” As he runs from the moon, he spots the elusive Bigfoot, who turns out to be extremely mild mannered—crossing his arms and insisting that pointing him out like that is “Not cool.” Bigfoot even joins in the party when the greedy bear finally shares his plunder.

Monsters Love Underpants, by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort
A good way to make any monster seem less scary is to picture him wearing brightly colored underpants. In this book, the author and illustrator have done the visualizing for you, as toothy, furry monsters gallivant around in garish bloomers, boxers, and briefs.

The Monster at the End of This Book, by Jon Stone
Finally, this is the original not-so-scary monster book that generations of kids have enjoyed. Grover spends the story terrified about the monster at the end of the book, begging the reader not to turn the page. But kids know better—Grover himself is the monster! Plus, it’s fun to watch him sweat. As a bonus, this book introduces kids to metafiction.