The story drops readers immediately into the middle of a bustling, busy household of monsters in shades of gray, black, and brown. They have one eye like a cyclops and pop out and stretch arms and legs as needed. Reggie, a small gray monster, is going to take care of the house while his cousins and all their friends take a long vacation.
Reggie just wants to be left alone as he tries to recover from a frightening adventure and decide where he is going next and what this means for his friendship with the exuberant Clovis. But when Emily, a bunny-like monster child with great exuberance and kindness shows up, Reggie is drawn into the life of the beach and forest community despite his resistance. Emily and her family are kind and understanding and Emily herself has her own struggles with her boundless imagination and her sisters' disbelief. After a number of simple, gentle adventures, the story ends with a joyful beach party, the appearance of a very special monster that justifies Emily's imagination, and support for Reggie to choose his own path and still keep his old friends.
Vandorn's art is simple but colorful, with fluffy, stripy, and Moomin-style monsters of all shapes and sizes trundling across the pages, reshaping to fly, and stretching out legs and arms to hold their friends tight. Her author's note talks about how creating these monsters has helped her work through her own internal struggles over the years, and their thoughtful and quiet presence is certainly reassuring. Her work reminds me a little of Sara Varon's books, with the philosophical bent and simple illustrations, but personally I prefer Vandorn's more colorful art and comforting, chatty characters while Varon's work has always struck me as aimed at older readers and having a more bleak outlook. (This is just my personal feeling, lots of other people like Varon's work and don't feel like that). Anyways, this is very accessible for beginning chapter readers and has a nice, chunky look so they can get the feeling of reading a hefty chapter book. There are drawing guides at the back and this would be a lovely choice for a book club or craft program.
Verdict: If you have young readers who like quieter, more thoughtful stories, they will appreciate this gentle exploration of feelings and thoughts along with the endearing monsters that populate the forests and meadows.
ISBN: 9781984896827; Published June 2021 by Random House Graphic; Purchased for the library
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