Laura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your Monster

Who wouldn't benefit from a few helpful hints about the care and feeding of pet monsters? In their handy how-to guide, bestselling author Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie) and monster illustrator extraordinaire Nate Evans are happy to oblige with such pearls of wisdom as, "When choosing a monster, do not pick one who grabs you and starts to eat your shirt," and "Always read your monster a bedtime story. Do not tell your monster to count sheep. Counting sheep will make him hungry." Numeroff's deadpan presentation of the 10 steps to selecting and living with a pet monster is the perfect foil to Evans's hilarious, rowdy pictures. Purple polka dots and big bug-eyes reign, as the puppy-like personality of the featured monster wreaks havoc all over his adoptive home. Ever since the animated film, Monsters, Inc., monsters have enjoyed a renaissance as lovable (if incorrigible) imaginary companions. Children with a soft spot for weird, warted beasts will adore the silliness of this lighthearted "manual." (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter