Time Out for Monsters by Jean Reidy and illustrated by Robert Neubecker (Disney Hyperion, 2012) is the story of a boy’s imagination. An unnamed boy is sent to his time-out chair, and he dreams of what would make his otherwise boring corner more exciting. On the top of his list is, of course, a monster, a monster truck, and even a fire engine. In the crayon-like brush and ink illustrations, the reader can follow along with his adventure. The twist at the end was clever, and the boy’s ending creation is a delightful reminder that even in a boring corner, during a time out, we can have an adventure if we use our imagination.
Kid thoughts (age 5): I didn’t like it. [spoiler] I didn’t like that he wrote on the walls.
In our neighborhood, it is definitely Halloween season: pumpkins, Halloween parties, bags of leaves. In honor of the season, I thought it would be appropriate to share some of the “monster” books on the Cybils 2012 nomination list.
