"Leonardo the Terrible Monster"

Willems, M. (2005). Your pal Mo Willems presents Leonardo the terrible monster. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Readability Lexile: AD670L

Intended Audience: Ages 3-36

Setting: Anywhere monsters might be lurking.

Theme: Whether it is more noble to be a scary monster or a good friend.

Characters: Leonardo the Monster, other scary monsters, and Sam.

Summary: Leonardo the Terrible Monster is a monster who is unable to scare people. He is terrible at being a terrible monster. He studies hard and researches to find who he thinks he will be able to scare. Although he is unable to scare the biggest “scardey-cat” in town, he is able to realize that being a friend to someone is more important than being a monster, and that friends accept you for who you are and all you have to offer. 

It is amazing to delve into a children's book to find deeper meaning. Willem again brings to the forefront the notion of not fitting in. Why does Leonardo "the monster" find it so difficult to perform what is expected of monsters? Does this make him an outcast in his own society? 

This book also has the Adult Directed rating. Once again, parents and teachers will be able to construct conversations about fitting in with society or about being a little different and not worrying what others think or say. I like that the book focuses on friendship being of the utmost importance.

This is the third book that I have reviewed by this author and two out of three have dealt with this topic. The illustrations are wonderful and the story line much deeper that you see at first glance. Because it lacks a diversified cast of characters does not dampen the message. This book meets the requirements of high quality literature set forth by Norton (2011).