Monster Baby by Lee Carr

7th April 2011, Red Fox Picture Books

24 pages, Paperback

Review copy

Children's, Picture Book 

Siblings, family life, younger sisters, mischief, love, humour 

Summary from Random House Children's books 

Jake wants to play with Mum but first Meg, his baby sister, needs a nap. 

But Meg doesn't want to sleep. She grabs at Jake's hair, throws her toys and soon she's sprouting fur! 

Can Jake help a real Monster Baby fall asleep? And will things get back to normal before Mum notices? It's the perfect book for big brothers and sisters everywhere.

Nayuleska's thoughts

Thankfully I was the youngest child, so I never had this problem (although I know that I was the annoying little sister!) I do feel sorry for Jake because Meg gets the attention, and his mother won't have free time until Meg sleeps. It's so funny how Meg fools Jake. Not that Jake finds it funny when her true monster self begins to form. He doesn't want his mother finding out, so has to think quickly to find ways to tame the beast. His mother is oblivious to Meg's transformation, because Jake finds something that works on soothing his strange sister. 

What I loved most about this story were the illustrations. They are bright and cheery, Meg & all the toys look soft and squishy, especially when she turns into a monster. Her colouring does remind me a little of Sully in the film Monsters Inc. The flaps are sturdy, so should hold up to rough little hands. One thing which worked well was how the toys and the creature on Jake's top react. Their eyes are closed and they look relaxed when Meg is pretended to sleep, as well as settling down to sleep. However, as she turns into a little monster, their expressions change and they become quite worried. This is shown on the front page as they react to her monster hair showing itself. The positions they take match their expressions, which adds another dimension to the story. 

Final conclusion 

Every child needs to read this so they know they aren't alone if they feel their younger brother/sister is acting like a monster. 

Suggested reading: 

Witch Baby and Me On Stage & Witch Baby and Me At School by Debi Gliori. This series shows how hard it is to have a younger sibling who isn't human. Compared to Lily's trouble with witch baby Daisy, Jake really can't complain much about Meg! He doesn't have an invisible dog who stinks, or have a trio of witches keeping an eye on him.
Spike & Alienson by Malaika Rose Stanley. It seems that monster/alien siblings are on the increase! And they always cause mischief.