That's Not the Monster We Ordered

The day the Turner family gets their very own monster is a momentous event in the neighborhood. Everyone gathers for the occasion. The monster can roar louder than a lion, leap down the stairs better than any Slinky, and eat grass so no one needs to mow. Based on the Turners’ experience, investing in a monster seems like a great idea!

Except, the monster that shows up isn’t the monster they ordered at all. Their monster likes to pull pranks and paint murals, and when he eats grass, he gets gas! He isn’t a good baker and he smells! Will the family return their defective monster? Or will the monster find a way to win their love?

That’s Not the Monster We Ordered is a fun twist on household pets but full of enough silly antics to warrant rereads. As in Gorillas in Our Midst and My Grandpa Is a Dinosaur, Fairgray and Jones have blended imagination into the real world, creating an entertaining story everyone will enjoy.

Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Richard Fairgray was born and raised in New Zealand and has been publishing since he was seven years old. He has been working exclusively in comics for the last seven years with longtime collaborator Terry Jones. Their main work together is the ongoing series Blastosaurus. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Tara Black is the cowriter and artist on the daily webcomic I Fight Crime, which has been running since 2009, producing over 1,800 strips. She has been coloring Richard and Terry’s work since 2010, most notably on Blastosaurus, as well as several picture books and comic side projects. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her dog and her husband, both of whom wish to remain anonymous.

Terry Jones was born in Wales. He taught high school–aged kids in the United Kingdom for many years before immigrating to New Zealand. He has written newspaper and magazine articles, some nonfiction works, and two novels, The Left-Handed Gun and The R.U.M.B.L.E.R. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.