Author: Tara Black
Illustrators: Richard Fairgray and Terry Jones
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-1-5107-1136-5
Pages: 32
Price: $16.99
Everyone is excited when the Turners get their very own monster. He can roar like a lion, tumble down the steps like a slinky, and even carry all the kids home on his back. So the children ask their parents if they can have a monster, too. Finally, after much deliberation and debate, the order is placed. But when the monster arrives… he’s not at all what they expected.
As they live with the monster for the next few days, they discover he can’t do any neat tricks. His stomach gets upset when he eats the grass they expected him to keep trimmed. And he isn’t very good at baking. He’s not the monster they ordered and will just have to be shipped back. But what if the monster they received is really the right one for them after all?
That’s Not the Monster We Ordered is a lighthearted story with a nice message of acceptance. Rather than simply giving up on their defective monster, the family learns to love him just as he is. In this day and age of disposable relationships, kids will learn that there are redeeming qualities in all of us and we’re all lovable in our own unique way. I highly recommend it.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
Bergers Book Reviews 