Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Monster clothes and Monster food by Daisy Hirst

 These goofy board books will keep little ones - and their caregivers - laughing. Each one features blobby monsters, with crooked white teeth and big, staring eyes. In Monster Clothes, the purple monster on the cover gets out of a green bed and goes to a green dresser to find some clothes. Then a series of goofy monsters each try on a different piece of apparel in alliterative sentences; Harriet, a red, lizard-like creature, wears a conical purple hat. Uma, a purple monster with feathery ears, puts on undies. On her head! Terrence, a squat alligator-like figure, "tries on a tomato." The book ends with Evie, the monster from the cover, wearing "everything" including a potted plant on her head, red vest, striped scarf, fluffy purple tutu, and two different shoes.

The same silly humor prevails in Monster Food as rhyming text introduces a rainbow of monsters trying different foods from peaches and pears to chomping on chairs, noodles and stew, to eating a shoe. The book ends with some wild diets, "Some monsters eat tractors/or think TV is yummy/It's a better idea/to put FOOD in your tummy." and shows a child with thick black hair and dark brown skin eating a sandwich and drinking a glass of water.

Personally, I didn't care overmuch for the blocky, childlike illustration style and found the monsters' weird shapes and jagged teeth a little alarming. However, the contrasting colors and simple shapes will do well for very young listeners and the real draw here is the silly text of the stories. This is perfect for toddlers, who will delight in correcting the monsters as they "wear" cars, try on tomatoes, eat chairs, and sample tractors.

Verdict: While this wasn't my personal favorite, the humor will definitely resonate with toddlers and these would make fun storytime choices to go along with eating food and getting dressed themes.

Monster Food
ISBN: 9781536217742

Monster Clothes
ISBN: 9781536215281

Published July 2021 by Candlewick; Review copies provided by publisher