Cover Image: I Am Scary

I Am Scary

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Member Reviews

Such a cute story for little ones. The monster is trying to scare the little girl and dog. The dog is scared and love the reactions!! The girl isn’t scared no matter what monster does. The monster is upset that no one is scared of him until the little girl gives him a hug! Love does make the world go around!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review!

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I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute. Nice illustrations. Fun for smaller kids.

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I am Scary is another cute book by Elise Gravel. Give to students that enjoy funny, but heartwarming books. The colors Gravel chose to use when creating this book are perfect.

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Authors love monsters trying to be scary. I suppose the idea is to take a thing that kids typically fear and tame it. The progression here is very step by step, guiding the reader through visual interpretation. It's a good one for building the basics of that skill.

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Monster just wants to be scary, but Kid isn't scared. Even when Monster points out it's huge eyes, big pointy teeth, sharp claws, long horns, and roars its biggest roar, Kid isn't scared. Kid thinks Monster is cute, and gives Monster a hug, which turns out to be not such a bad thing. The story is cute and sweet, and Monster really is adorable! The illustrations are wonderful, I want to hug Monster too, and I like that Kid is gender neutral. The little dog is cute too! A fun little book perfect for little ones (and 51 year old women!).

#IAmScary #NetGalley

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Sometimes, you think you are scary. You think you're a "bad guy"*. You're mad and you want to kick the wall.

You're a scary, scary monster.

But someone else comes along, and points out that you probably could just use a hug.

This book is absolutely freaking adorable. A simple board book, but still one that I think could amuse children up to 6 years old.


* Quoting my 3-year old nephew

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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Super cute little kids book, pretty simple story and art wise but imo great for small kids bed-nap time.

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Absolutely love Elise Gravel, I've read most of her work in french, this was my first read in english. Works great, funny and cute, nothing is lost in translation.

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I loved the illustrations and the color scheme here.
The story didn’t really work for me. I know it’s a kids book but I felt that the jump from not scared to hug was just abrupt. It was cute and I get the idea behind it, I just didn’t feel that it was evident why the kid wasn’t scared without some context.

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I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a super cute, quick picture/board book for littles. The illustrations are simple, with only a few (bright) colors. The message is sweet and one I think that children will easily comprehend. Cute and very fun!

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"I Am Scary" by Elise Gravel is a cute children's book about facing one's fears. A monster tries its hardest to scare a little girl. The girl tells the monster she isn't afraid of it and offers the monster a hug instead.

What I liked about this book was the illustrations -- the monster looked like a modernized, pared-down version of a Maurice Sendak "Wild Thing." Elise Gravel, the author and illustrator, shows a two sides of the same coin -- bravery and fear standing side by side; her illustrations nicely contrast the little girl's bravery by showing her dog's reaction to the monster -- his barking and trying pulling her away.

I would have liked for the illustrations to be little larger and "close up." Some of the girl's reactions (and dialogue ) are a little more subtle than I would have liked for a young reader. But it also makes the monster less scary. The drama of this story would come through an adult's reading the story and voicing the drama. The pictures make the monster seem more comic than frightening.

The book could have taken the story a little further than the hug. "I AM SCARY" ends abruptly with the hug eliciting a tear from the monster and -- boom -- the end. Close ups of the characters would have made the emotions of these characters stronger and would have give the story more impact and energy, though I could see this being a nice gift book for adults who are parenting the toddlers or are facing fears or anxiety of their own. It would also make a nice title for a therapist's waiting room.

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This is a cute short kid’s book about a monster who does not understand why a child is not afraid of him.

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Constraints breed creativity… or so the axiom goes. I think that’s what makes the best children’s books so universally appealing and malleable: With a small storytelling canvas, writers and artists, at their best, can find rich, resonant layers with just a few strokes.

Consider the way Where The Wild Things Are evokes the deep psychological angst of confronting the scary world or The Runaway Bunny conveys the grief, hope, and beauty of your children growing up. The books don’t explicitly address their topic; they’re just simple stories that even a toddler can follow. In fact, adding more story might diminish their impact.

I Am Scary by Elise Gravel is profoundly effective in its economy of storytelling in the way the best kids books are. It’s not an all-time classic on their level, but it shows that Gravel understands what can make childhood stories like Where the Wild Things Are and The Runaway Bunny eternal.

The framing of I Am Scary is simple: The monster on the left, a girl and her dog on the right. The monster tries to scare the girl, but she remains unmoved. I love that this book manages to, in equal parts, tell us many things about both the monster and the girl, and it’s very debatable who is the protagonist.

Gravel infuses the story with simple colors and character drawings. The pages have a sketchbook feel to them, with white backgrounds and clear pen strokes. A highlight is the girl’s pet dog, who reacts expressively to every action by the monster, even as the girl remains impassive.

The book is, overall, a bit too comic-like for my personal taste; and its minimalism is a bit too much for this to become an all-time favorite. But I Am Scary is immensely charming, even evocative, and I give it a strong recommendation for those with little ones.

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This was an enjoyable read. The illustrations were minimal but very cute. Such an adorable little monster book.

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This is a cute little story. Very simple illustrations but nice ending. I think it would be better with my toddler than my students.

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I Am Scary was super short and super cute. My kiddos thought the monster was hilarious. I really dug the minimal color scheme.

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Ahhhhh . Such a simple and cute story about a monster who doesn’t know what to do when he is no longer scary. But a little girl will help show him the way. The illustrations are simple, but work perfectly with the story line. And a bonus, this was translated from the original French.

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“I am Scary” by Elise Gravel. As a mom of three (ages 1, 4, and 6), we tend to change up what we read together – from picture books to chapter books, we catch them all. Admittedly, for someone who loves to read ALL THE TIME, I tend to not read as long or as often as I should to my kiddos. But, they always get something before bed, no matter how short. The board book “I am Scary” hits the nail on the head for those nights that I don’t have enough time for a few chapters. It’s about a little monster that’s having a hard time scaring a little girl. The simple story and artwork are cute, and the interactions between the two allow for me to use my monster voices and act out the scenes with a big hug goodnight at the end. I would recommend this book to parents who like to mix things up with shorter board books.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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A sweet, giggle-inducing thrill from the queen of cutesy monsters, Elise Gravel. Fun for little readers.

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"I Am Scary" is a children's picture book. There is much to this one. Nothing all that special as far as picture books go.

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