The Monster at the End of This Book

1971

children's media tie-in books
children’s board books
children’s picture books
self-reference
fiction
monsters
puppets
juvenile fiction
juvenile works
juvenile audience

The story

Is there a monster at the end of this book? Lovable, furry old Grover believes that there is, and he will try anything to stop you from turning the pages to find him! The Monster at the End of This Book, the bestselling Sesame Street book of all time, is an exciting and highly original tale that children will want to read again and again.

What it’s like

Bright, chunky cartoon pages in primary colours, with Grover drawn in his fuzzy blue fur and wide-eyed panic, sit against plain white backgrounds that keep the eye on the speech-bubble text. The rhythm is pure call-and-response: short lines, a lot of pleading and bargaining directed straight at the reader, and a page-turn that builds comic suspense with each new barricade Grover tries. Its voice is warm, theatrical and self-aware, closer to a puppet show performed to one child on a lap than to a story told at a distance. Tone is playful and cosy with a flicker of mock dread that dissolves into laughter, and there is nothing in it harder than a worried monster. Violence, gore and fear are absent; the only "scare" is a sense of anticipation that resolves into a gentle joke. It suits a bedtime read, a shared lap-reading session with a toddler, or a rainy afternoon when someone wants something light and funny. It is made for very young children, parents reading aloud, and anyone who wants a cheerful, low-stakes book that rewards repeat readings.

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