Bedtime for Monsters

Being scared can be terrifying or hugely enjoyable, it’s all a matter of being in control — or not. Ed Vere’s commentary to his atmospheric illustrations of a large, green blob of a monster’s journey from his bone-strewn cave, through the terrible dark forest, the gloopy swamp, thorns and thistles, over mountains to the town, the house, the very bedroom of the reader, is a series of tension building questions. The suspense is almost killing yet this device well and truly hands control to the reader whose terrible fate is not perhaps what was expected. Vere’s use of different sizes and styles of lettering and of bold and italicised text acts as stage directions to the reader to ensure a perfect performance. Ed Vere just gets better and better with every startlingly original new book.