The Monster in the Backpack

Having trouble with your backpack zipper? Maybe there’s a monster inside! A little girl slowly warms up to her unexpected guest in this funny story.

When Annie unzips her backpack and finds a monster inside, it’s hard to say who is more shocked. "AAAAHHHH!" yells the monster. "EEEEEEKKKK!" yells Annie. Then the monster proceeds to gobble up Annie’s sandwich, put gum in her boot, and tear up her homework to use as confetti for an "Annie is great" parade during class. With perfect comic timing, this charming story depicts a young girl’s shift from annoyance to affection as a disarming monster makes an untimely appearance.

LISA MOSER received a degree in early education with a concentration in reading from the University of Iowa. She taught fifth grade and got the idea for THE MONSTER IN THE BACKPACK— her first book — seven years ago from one of her students, who couldn’t open the zipper on her backpack. " ‘There must be a monster in there,’ I told the girl, and then I began to think, ‘What if there really was?’ "

NOAH Z. JONES is the illustrator of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY by Kelly Bennett, his first children's book. Of THE MONSTER IN THE BACKPACK, he says, "I laughed out loud when I first read Lisa's story. I couldn’t wait to start drawing. It was especially fun to create a monster who wasn't scary or mean but caused mischief unintentionally and with such gleeful abandon."