A young child can’t wait to teach her pet monster to read. However, the stress is just too much, and her monster runs away. Not to be discouraged, the child uses clues from word families to find her monster. This silly picture book playfully introduces young prereaders to phonemic awareness skills, supporting them on their journey to literacy. A young girl attempts to teach her best friend to read. Her best friend just happens to be a cuddly orange monster. Despite the young girl's patient lessons, the monster gets nervous and runs away. The girl searches the house for him, rhyming along the way. Is he under the bed or somewhere he could be fed? Is he resting in the sun or out for a run? Eventually she finds her friend, and they cuddle up on the couch for a reading lesson. The text rhymes but lacks a solid rhythm. However, the story explains why words rhyme and provides tips on learning "word families" to help reading skills. The main character has fun, curly hair and a friendly face, and the monster is oblong, with orange fur, rounded horns, and purple ears and tail. Back matter includes more information on phonemic awareness and a little quiz on word families. VERDICT A story that both assuages a child's anxiety of learning to read and taps into their desire to teach others.-- "School Library Journal" Learning to read is hard work--for kids and monsters alike. A monster with a scruffy orange body, purple ears and tail, and short rounded horns disappears after a tough reading lesson. "It's kind of my fault," reflects the story's narrator, a tan-skinned child with curly brown hair. "I got carried away. I was acting like a teacher the other day." It's an insightful remark, but after a promising start, the book goes downhill as the youngster proceeds on a truly didactic search for the monster. "Word families look and sound the same at the end. Let's use this knowledge to find my best friend." Charts of word families appear with relentless frequency, competing with both the rhyming text and words that appear in the accompanying cartoon illustrations (for instance, a welcome mat or a button with the phrase "Reading for the win!"). Kids learning to sound out words will enjoy predicting the text; after the protagonist observes, "As I sit sipping from my favorite MUG, / I'm gently pulled into a giant...," youngsters will eagerly shout out "HUG!" But on the whole, the attempt to blend a literacy tutorial with an exploration of how to be a good friend may prove overwhelming for the intended audience of pre-readers. A solid effort hampered by information overload. (author's notes, activities) (Picture book. 4-6)-- "Kirkus Reviews" Christianne Jones grew up in a small town with three sisters, no cable, and parents who were teachers. After college, Christianne became an editor at a children's book company and began writing. She has found her niche in the picture book genre and has written many popular titles, including Donut Worry, Miles McHale, Tattletale, Harrison P. Spader, Personal Space Invader, and Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker. Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker won a 2013 Gelett Burgess Award and was a Midwest Book Award finalist. Christianne lives in Mankato, Minnesota, with her husband and three daughters. Katya Longhi was born in 1984 in Modica, a small town in Southern Italy. She grew up in Trento and studied at the Art Academy in Florence. Since then she has studied illustration at Nemo NT Academy of Digital Arts. When she was a child she drew everything she saw - she has countless drawings of ice cream and Snoopy! Katya completed several animation and illustration workshops, which she found invaluable as they helped her establish her style, and were the stimulation for her passion. Katya works digitally but she begins by drawing with pencil on paper. She then scans the work onto her computer where she enhances the piece with her finishing touches. In her spare time, Katya loves to going out with his husband, family and friends, and collect snow globes and Toy Story characters. She currently works as a freelance illustrator based in Trento, where she lives with her very own Prince Charming! She has also exhibited in numerous art exhibitions throughout Italy.