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Children's books

Join in for children's book recommendations.

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MNHQ

June Children's bookclub choice - Harry and the Monster by Sue Mongredien. Apply for free copy

22 replies

RachelMumsnet · 02/06/2014 14:16

One night, a monster stomps into Harry's dreams. The next day, Harry is scared to go to sleep. "If he comes back, just imagine him with pink pants on his head," suggests Mum. "He won't be scary then!" Can Mum's clever plan possibly work?

A perfect bedtime story which will help to quash fears as the lights go out. If you fancy reading with your dcs, apply for a free copy and come back to let us know what they think or post up a review.

June Children's bookclub choice - Harry and the Monster by Sue Mongredien. Apply for free copy

OP posts:

frazzledbutcalm · 03/06/2014 17:31

Have applied, seems a FAB bedtime story.

sallyst123 · 04/06/2014 18:54

My son would love this book.

MNHQ

NataliaMumsnet · 10/06/2014 12:49

This giveaway is now closed. We will contact those selected to receive a free copy via email. Please do come back here and let us know your thoughts on the book.

sammie2009 · 23/06/2014 19:37

This book is amazing my 4 yr old son is autistic he loves this book we won it in the competition and hasn't let me stop reading it to him the colours and pictures are so child friendly and appealing to them he loved how the story went on with some parts repeating he now repeats them back to me which is helping with his development of his speech. I recommend this book to anyone with a child of 2 and over it's amazing. I'm now looking for the other books that the author has wrote to buy them

Sam
Mam of 2 kids
Darlington

Carulli · 24/06/2014 13:47

This is a charming and funny book which my 5 year old twin girls loved. I don't think it would be too scary for very small children so long as it's read to the end and could provide some good strategies for recurrent nightmares.

86kate86 · 26/06/2014 14:37

Like it don't love it is the review put simply!
My son is only 2 and I do think that whilst his taking and understanding is great...he does not (I don't think!) get the concept of dreams so perhaps this book is abit lost on him yet!
Illustrations are good, basic idea of the story is nice and I'm sure it will help children struggling with bad dreams. I don't think this book generates enough excitement for him compared to other books (perhaps as it doesn't rhyme) and isn't as 'punchy' as his other favourites (namely dinosaurs in the supermarket!)

NumTumDeDum · 26/06/2014 15:00

This book has proved to be a winner with both my 5 yr old DD and my 20 month old DS. My son loved the illustrations and spent some time happily flicking through the pages just looking at the book. Both children sat and listened to the story, although my son obviously didn't understand it, was amused by the roaring and 'argh-ing' throughout and shouted out 'train, train' very excitedly at the appearance of a train set. My daughter does suffer with bad dreams and we often have discussions like the ones in the book and whilst I am sure it won't really help with those, it did make her realise other children have these issues too. I don't know how popular it will be in a few weeks - some books have more repeat appeal than others, and I suspect that it won't be as popular as say, The Gruffalo for the rhyming and re-reading rate. But, that being said, it was an enjoyable read and had some lovely pictures.

maskedsongbird · 26/06/2014 16:26

Hi there, I was fortunate enough to receive a free copy of this book and I think it is great! I have posted a review on mumsnet which you can read here: www.mumsnet.com/reviews/books/childrens-books/18719-harry-and-the-monster along with other peoples reviews.

bogglebonce · 26/06/2014 16:31

What a wonderful book, the illustrations are superb and the story well thought out. An absolute 'must' to buy if you have a young child having nightmares or frightened to go to sleep. We have already read it many times, it is very funny yet touching at the same time, and a bonus in that it does not take very long to read.

HazelDormouse · 26/06/2014 17:17

A lovely, picture book to finish the day with. We all liked the big purple monster, he was really rather 'cute'. As others have suggested, it is very good for young children who have worries about going to sleep.

Ds (4) was most impressed by the train set on the penultimate pages. He really wanted one of those. A little too big I think.... The cake on the other hand earlier on ...

sss2012 · 26/06/2014 17:32

Funny story. My child seems didn't understand the story. But still she turned the pages & looked on the pictures. Good book for children with nightmares. Thank you for my copy!

sallyst123 · 26/06/2014 19:08

this is a great story my 5 yo son loves it, it quickly become his favorite, he even took it in too school yesterday for his teacher to read to the class.
the illustrations are great & him & my 6 yo dd love doing the rooaar & aarrgghh ing in the story. a nice fun read.
thank you mn

peasandchips · 26/06/2014 19:25

This arrived this morning and has already been read three times before nursery and twice this evening!

mjmooseface · 27/06/2014 15:51

I wasn't aware of the age range for this book when I applied for a free copy. Regardless, my 20 month old son has enjoyed looking through this book and sits with me while I read it to him. He loves it when I use different voices for the monster, Harry and his parents.

I love the brightly coloured illustrations and think the story is wonderfully written! I love that the author wanted to give the child the power to control their dreams so that they aren't scared of going to sleep any more. A lovely idea and a lovely read!

dsteinway · 28/06/2014 10:25

My 28 month old DD pretty much instantly loved this story. Has become one of her regular reads. The illustrations are fantastic and I think she understands the story. This is the type of book I like to read to her, it's not too long or complicated but not overly simplistic either. She's at an age where very babyish books bore her but too many words on a page do as well. All in all I give it a wholehearted two thumbs up and am grateful for our copy.

StantonLacy · 28/06/2014 21:01

My 6 year old DS grabbed this as soon as I took it out of the envelope and then sat down with his 4 year old sister and read it to her...I guess you can say it was a definite hit!

DD suffers badly with nightmares, so I'm always on the lookout for any books that might help her/me deal with them. It was great that the parents in this book were using a tactic that we have used ourselves - it was almost reiterating it for DD - getting the monster to look silly, trying to put obstacles in it's way etc Unless you're a lucid dreamer, this kind of thing is a bit difficult to pull off, but it's a nice way of trying to help them feel more in control I suppose.

DD certainly loved the 'Cross Mum' idea and I loved the repetition of '...waking everyone up' and especially the pleasant outcome

I thought it was nicely paced and just the right length for a bedtime story for DD. It was also just right for DS to read to DD, some nice shouty dialogue to get his teeth into!

We liked it very much, thank you so much for our copy

everythingisonmurtaghlist · 29/06/2014 11:00

I received the book and had a good read, the illustrations are brilliant and I do love the story. I agree with other posters that it would be good for children experiencing nightmares but I have not read it to my 2.9 year old as yet. She is a very sensitive child and I actually think, knowing her the way I do, this could introduce something that's not an issue for now. The book itself seems awesome but i guess for us its a case of 'know your audience'.

katb1973 · 29/06/2014 14:43

Thanks for the great book Mumsnet. My 5 year old who doesn't suffer from nightmares loved it. He loved the bright illustrations and the storyline that included the monster getting into all sorts of jams (or jellies if you prefer!). We've read it several time and he isn't tired of it yet so that is the greatest endorsement of all.

TrishRob · 30/06/2014 20:17

My DS is 5 and doesn't have trouble sleeping, but he thought this was a great read. He giggled at the funny ideas to keep the monster at bay and enjoyed looking at the pictures, which are pitched just right to get the story across in a fun way. Thumbs up from us.

WowOoo · 03/07/2014 13:03

My 5 year old really enjoyed this.

The humour allowed us to talk about things that can be upsetting.

He has had only a few bad dreams and loved the way you can control what happens. He chatted about what he would do if he dreamt about a monster or something scary.

It went down very well, thank you very much.

sealight123 · 07/07/2014 13:20

My daughter loves this book! She loves monsters to bits and loved all the colourful illustrations :) It was the perfect length for s bedtime story book xxx

kazlau · 12/07/2014 17:43

Thanks for this fabulous book. My grandson was a little hesitant about the monster but the author gently changes him from scary to friendly by the end of the book. The beautiful illustrations drew him into the story and it soon became a favourite. I wouldn't advise it as a bedtime story unless you child actually had nightmares but it was great for those moments in the day when a little quiet time is needed. As you can see from my pics Jamie loves it!

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