Bedtime for Monsters

Ed Vere's picture book is a masterclass in read-aloud comic timing. A monster narrates its menacing stalk toward a bedtime snack — you — with increasingly ridiculous bravado, building genuine audience participation along the way before the twist: all it really wants is a goodnight kiss. The suspense is cartoonish rather than frightening, the resolution is warm and slobbery, and the whole thing lands perfectly for nightly repeats. Kirkus Reviews praised the balance of humor and thrills; Publishers Weekly called it a superb storytime choice; it was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2011. The honest caveat is that the narrative is paper-thin outside the comic premise, and children at the target age will not be reading this independently — it lives and breathes as a read-aloud. But as a read-aloud, it is close to perfect. Fully family-safe.