Book Nook: Monster Boogie

Laurie Berkner is a well-known children's music singer, and I had a chance to review her book Pillowland, based on her song of the same name. She has another book I got to review, also based on a song - this time about monsters. Monster Boogie is a cute book that is great for kids, whether or not they're afraid of the monsters under the bed.

Says Laurie, “When we’re kids, monsters are scary things. But we all have feelings inside of ourselves that are kind of monstrous. We all want to be loud sometimes (even just to be heard) or get caught up in our big, angry feelings. I wrote the words to this song (that have now been so wonderfully illustrated by Ben Clanton) so that kids could have the opportunity to ‘BE the monster’ and enjoy it, even revel in it, in a safe way, and still feel loved.”

By turning monsters into fun-loving, dancing creatures that just want to party with kids, it makes them less scary. The book is fun to read, too, with a great rhythm and rhyme that come from being written for a song. It's a great book for fans of Laurie's, or for any kid who either likes or is scared by monsters.