Monster & Mouse Go Camping by Deborah Underwood

Abstract

Reviewed by: Monster & Mouse Go Camping by Deborah Underwood Sarah Sahn Underwood, Deborah Monster & Mouse Go Camping; illus. by Jared Chapman. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018 [32p] ISBN 978-0-544-64832-6 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R 4-7 yrs Mouse can't wait to take her friend Monster camping-walking in the woods, sleeping in a tent, telling spooky stories, and most importantly (for Monster), eating "lots of yummy food." The tiny white mouse with big pink ears and the big orange and purple monster set off, but along the way, Monster gets hungry-which leads to some problems when it's time to set up camp. The sleeping bags? Monster ate them. The lamp and the tent? He ate those, too. Monster did not eat the food, but that's because Mouse forgot to bring it. There's plenty of visual humor for kids to appreciate, especially when Monster chows down on the camping supplies. ("Monster had a snack," the text reads, while the illustration shows a huge bite taken out of the lamp and Monster's bulging cheeks). The two friends pop against a forest background of greens, browns, and blues, and a few horizontally split pages with white gutters give this the feel of an early graphic novel. Older kids will enjoy reading this title to younger siblings, if they can curb their own giggles. Use this story to get kids excited about a first camping trip-they'll be looking eagerly for friendly orange and purple monsters who like to eat sleeping bags. Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois