No Such Thing - Hardcover

Koller, Jackie French

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1563974908 ISBN 13: 9781563974908

Publisher: Astra Young Readers, 1997

Synopsis

There is no such thing as a monster, and certainly no such thing as a monster under the bed. That's what Howard's mother tells him. There is no such thing as a boy, and certainly no such thing as a boy on top of a bed. That's what Monster's mother tells him. But no matter what their mothers say, Howard and Monster remain afraid of the dark. Then one spooky night Howard and Monster come face-to-face with each other. Jackie French Koller and Betsy Lewin have created a "monster-under-the-bed" story that offers the perfect cure for fear of the dark.

About this title

About the Author:

Jackie French Koller is the author of more than a dozen books for children, including the Mole & Shrew picture books. She lives in Westfield, Massachusetts.

Betsy Lewin has illustrated many books for children, including A Thousand Cousins by David L. Harrison, and Booby Hatch, a 1995 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, which she wrote. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

From Publishers Weekly:

Monsters, according to popular opinion, live under beds. Koller (the Mole and Shrew books), rather than deny these beasts' existence, questions their frightful intentions. In this mildly suspenseful tale, a boy named Howard tells his mother, "I heard [a monster] snurkling under my bed." Meanwhile, a young monster informs his mother that he hears a boy "sneezing on top of my bed." Left alone by their disbelieving parents, human and monster peek at each other and shriek in fear; only when their terror turns to tears do they dare a second, curious look. On the closing page, they trade places for a practical joke that's left to the reader's imagination: " 'Oh, Mommy,' they both called together. 'Mommy, come quick!' " Lewin (Somebody Catch My Homework) draws in loose, Quentin Blake-style gestures of pen and ink, and fills the negative space with watercolor washes of dusky blue and brown. She envisions Monster (who reads a scary comic titled Boy) as a warty green gargoyle with clawed toes, a boar's snout and tusks. Koller invents a monster vocabulary: Monster "whimples" when Howard whimpers, and "sniggles" when his friend giggles. The plot is predictable and even a bit shopworn, yet the energetic telling and agreeable illustrations could put some fears temporarily to rest. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Astra Young Readers
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1563974908
• ISBN 13: 9781563974908
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Lewin Betsy