Harry and the monster

Harry keeps having bad dreams about a monster. Finally, he summons his mom into his dream as his defender, and the monster gets a dressing-down that not only neutralizes his scariness but also makes him sympathetic. The story, with its domestic setting and concerns and the doting parents, has a welcome classic-book feel, but the pictures could use a little old-school artistry. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Sometimes when nightmares keep children awake, no one in the family gets any rest. When Harry wakes, screaming from a dream of a purple monster, he wakes up the whole family. He's so frightened that the next night, he doesn't want to go to bed. His mom suggests imagining the monster wearing a pair of pink pants on his head, saying "You'll laugh so much that it won't be that scary." But when Harry dreams a pair of flowery underpants onto the monster's head, the brute roars, "Who put these pants on my head?" Next, Harry's father offers a suggestion, but it, too, backfires and enrages the monster. Finally, one night, his father comes up with the winning solution. Young readers will likely feel a special kinship with Harry, and they will respond to the repetition and buildup of the story. The depiction of the monster is just right: not too scary and reminiscent of Cookie Monster. The sweet, colorful illustrations offer details that will have readers giggling: When the monster gets stuck in a honey-colored jelly, he's covered with little sticky blobs; when he topples into a Christmas tree, he ends up decorated with stars and ornaments. Sleepy children will be inspired to invent their own very silly, very unscary creatures before they nod off to dreamland. (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.