Have You Seen My Monster?

A little girl arrives at the fair and realises she has lost her pet monster. Where can he be? As the pages are turned the little girl searches for her monster taking us from the Ferris wheel to the bumper cars, the roller coaster to the carousel. The wisdom of including the ‘freak show’ element with a bearded lady is questionable. Readers can join in spotting the appealing and mischievous monster on every double page spread (this is quite tricky in the hall of mirrors) and guessing what he might get up to next.

The book also has a mathematical theme with a different 2D shape featuring in the design on every page. The block colour shape patterns add contrast to the otherwise monochrome pen and ink design. Familiar shapes such as squares and triangles are included alongside the rather less familiar nonagon, trapezoid and even curvilinear triangle. The end papers provide a map of the monster’s journey with the fairground attractions visited and shapes featured. Talking about the shapes and learning names of new ones will enable young readers to become 2D experts and might encourage them to look for shapes in the environment as well.

Age suitability for this book is unclear, the ‘spot the cute hairy monster’ theme would suggest the book’s suitability for under-fives but the mathematical content suggests an older reader. A follow up to Have You Seen My Dragon? which had a similar format and a mathematical (counting) theme.