Monsters Never Get Haircuts

PreS-K–Monsters have a lot of recognizable traits, including rows of sharp teeth, myriad eyes, and long limbs and hair. But they also are limited in their activities, which changes how they appear to young children. Not only do monsters never get haircuts, but they also are not able to swim, they do not wear glasses, and they are not able to drive. And all this is true because monsters do not exist. This picture book is short and sweet, using brief, repetitive text on each page to describe exactly what monsters are not able to do. Each spread is dominated by an illustration featuring a specific monster either attempting the activity that is mentioned, or adjacent to a human who is doing so. These images are deliberately limited, incorporating visible pencil marks, extensive white space, and a limited color palette, as if these are the sketched notions about monsters from a child’s imagination. Despite this book’s brevity, it provides a powerful message for children who are frightened by the idea of monsters. Bluntly, monsters do not exist, but here are memorable phrases to carry into everyday life to cultivate emotional resilience.