PBS #7 - Little Monster Did It by Helen Cooper

Everything was quiet and peaceful in the house until Little Monster arrived. 


Little Monster loves Amy, but he hates the new baby.  Soon he starts doing some very naughty things and Amy gets the blame...

Little Monster Did It by Helen Cooper is a wonderfully illustrated picture book for younger readers.  I would say under six's would get most enjoyment out of it, and of course, us older folk too.  Especially in the fine detail of the artwork which is not intensely coloured, but instead, by using muted hues, their impact is quite striking and...thoughtful.  It's difficult to explain.  The colours used throughout made me want to pause in my consideration of them, they drew me in, which I really liked.

Amy loves her mum and dad and loves the time they spend together.  She likes that it's only the 3 of them.  But when her mum goes to hospital, after giving Amy a large Little Monster as a present, and she comes back with a new baby, needless to say, Amy is not best pleased.  And Little Monster is deeply upset.  He throws tantrums and makes a noise when the baby wants to sleep.  When they all cuddle in with mum and dad and the new baby, Little Monster spitefully opens the hot water bottle in the bed and empties it all out.  Of course, all his naughty actions are blamed on Amy.

It is a very fast read, mostly because the pictures themselves tell most of the story - the prose is light and clever, but not as clever as seeing Amy's naughty face peer out from behind the tv watching Little Monster push donuts into the VCR.  The expression is surprisingly sly and naughty and works so well.

I know exactly what Amy was going through and although I didn't have Little Monster, I acted very badly towards my nieces and nephews until I realised that they would become my best friends forever.  All I had to do was give them a chance.

Little Monster Did It is a clever book for young readers struggling to cope with a new addition to the family or an upcoming new addition to the family.  It makes them stop and think and it made me, as a reader, feel very nostalgic for my own overly busy childhood with hordes of nieces, nephews and cousins underfoot.

Find Helen Cooper's website here.  A bit thanks goes to Random House who have listened so kindly to my pleas for more picture books to be featured on Picture Book Saturdays.  They give me immense enjoyment and I find my wishlist of picture books growing and growing!

PBS #5: Me and You by Anthony Browne

One day, a girl came into our house, ate my porridge, broke my chair and fell asleep in my bed.  I wonder who she was?

This is a thoughtful retelling of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story.

It left me with a sense of peculiar sadness and I'm not sure why.  Actually, I think I know.  I think it's because of the artwork - it has a peculiar quality to it.  Unlike most picture books where the artwork truly invites you in with vibrant colours and over the top drawings, Me and You has made use of subtler tones.

On the one hand we have the pages illustrating the young girl leaving her home with her mum.  The artwork is quiet, grey, dull.  She's dressed in a hoodie and the area does not look very nice.

Contrasted wildly with the greyness of the young girl's world, we have the home of the bears.  A wonderfully large home, far brighter and more interesting.  There is also a cohesion in the family in that it has a mum, dad and boy bear - a family unit.  They go out and do things together.

The girl spots a balloon whilst she's standing in front of a shop window with her mum and she runs off to catch it.  She doesn't pay attention where it's going and before she knows it, she's lost and the balloon is entirely out of her reach.

She wanders around and finds the wonderfully large and beautiful home of the bears.  She does exactly what Goldilocks is meant to do - basically invades their home and privacy and eventually falls asleep in the bear junior's bed.  The bears return home after a lovely stroll out and discover their house broken in to.  They sneak around and find the girl asleep.  They confront her and she runs away.

Soon the artwork changes again to reflect the greyness of the girl's surroundings and as she flees the bears and their neighbourhood, she runs deeper into the darkness.  But it ends well, with a great blast of colour.

I think that this one is by far the most subtle picture book I've read in ages.  I think young folk would like it for the obvious Goldilocks story but I think slightly older, more advanced readers, would notice the contrast between the girl's drab life and that of the bears and it will make them wonder.

It's a beautiful book but it's definitely one that makes me feel melancholy.