If Your Monster Won't Go to Bed

PreS-Gr 2—A brown-skinned girl in fuzzy bunny slippers faces the unenviable nightly task of putting her overtired monster to bed. An omnipresent narrator engages the unnamed main character and readers by discussing the importance of monsters getting their rest. Grumpy monsters are no fun, and with a series of "don'ts" that are reminiscent of what a chiding adult might say to a rambunctious child, the narrative proceeds to present what not to do, as readers follow the main character and her shaggy monster on their typical nighttime routine. Vega's incorporation of alliteration and wordplay, when woven with Ohora's bold acrylic art, creates a humorous discourse ideal for storytelling. Diversity abounds as the main character's parents, a white father quivering in the arms of her black mother, are shown to be incapable of putting monsters to bed. Vega reassures readers that "it's not their fault; they're just not good at it" and proceeds to list other concerns, such as sheep counting and avoiding the "Monster Stomp," which includes "waggle-wiggling, fur-flicking, [and] claw-clenching." The narrator provides six steps in the second half of the book, charmingly scrawled in a childlike print. Each step is fully illustrated on a spread. Strikingly bold artwork depicts a large, multicolored, bristly monster whose furry horns bear a passing resemblance to the young main character's hair puffs, slyly suggesting that bedtime routines are tough for monsters and children alike.