Leonardo the Terrible Monster

Leonardo wants desperately to be a truly terrible monster, able to ‘scare the tuna salad’ out of all and sundry. But in reality, he is ‘terrible’ in quite another way: he can’t scare anyone. He is a small cuddly wimp, not at all like the other monsters. He does some research to find a victim, someone smaller and weaker than himself, and he decides upon Sam. When Sam cries after Leonardo does his scary act, Leonardo thinks he has succeeded, but Sam isn’t scared, just sad because he has no friends. Leonardo then makes the right decision and ‘instead of being a terrible monster’, he becomes ‘a wonderful friend’. It is the illustrations that make this story quite special. Great swathes of space on each double page spread, with a few words in decorative lettering and figures seen from different perspectives, give an imaginative sophistication to the book. This is emphasised at the climax, when a pink double page is covered with white lettering listing all the reasons why Sam is unhappy, with a crying Sam in one corner and a perturbed Leonardo in the other. A most effective production and a funny book with a serious (slightly) theme.