Monsters at School

At times, I browse NetGalley in search of picture books and children's books because even though I'm a grown-ass adult, sometimes I just need a little silly joy delivered through rhymes and illustrations, and this provides that. It's super colorful, cute, and funny, perfect for its target audience.

This was so cute. I cannot wait to buy this book for all the kids I know! I really think they’re all going to love it.

I am always ready for a new Quarto kids book! The illustrators and authors seem to be a hit every single time. The thing that drew me to this title immediately was the book cover, I quickly judged it as something that my kids would love to read. It feels silly, modern, and bright. Inside, I found illustrations bursting off all edges of the page, describing what monsters do when headed to school. The book doesn't follow a solid narrative, which is a fun option in kids books. Bold colors and shapes carry the story along through the school day, including recess, art class, and getting a little wild in the classroom. My kids enjoyed this silly book and so did I; it's really great for a wide range of ages.

This was such a fun, energetic book! The illustrations are so unique and I adored the idea looking for dog monster in every scene in a Where's Wally way. The story itself was simple and clear - it lends itself very well to reading aloud.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Such an adorable little book full of silly, cute, and fun monsters going through a day of school.
My kids loved going back through the book to find all dog monsters hiding in each scene!
The colors are eye-catching, and with so much in each picture, you're noticing something new with each read through! Plus, I love the rhythm scheme in this one!
High recommend!

Monsters at School, written by Laura Baker, is a very sweet children's book! Each page has beautiful illustrations and words showing how the monsters enjoy their time at school. I think that children will enjoy reading this book, and seeing how these monsters have fun at school, just like they do! I can't wait to share this book with my own "little monsters" in the preschool room that I work at. Thank you to NetGalley and to the author and publisher of Monsters at School for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#MonstersatSchool #NetGalley

Great book! The illustrations are very vivid and busy which kids are going to love. Heck, this book could be for younger kiddos not able to read themselves and just taking time to look at all the different monsters. Fun activities could be added like: counting monsters of a certain color, how many eyes are on a certain page. I love how the author snuck in the "Dog Monster" on every single page. That's an activity for non-readers to engage in. SO much to do with this book. The rhyming is seamless and has a nice flow for read-aloud. It also shows children the "getting ready for school", "activities at school" and "leaving school" which is awesome for children preparing to enter the school system and/or daycare. This might relieve some anxiety.

Monsters At School would be a great addition to any kindergarteners shelf! I loved that it highlighted all the different types of monsters at school, and showed that every kind of monster was able to have a great day and want to return again the next day. It will help kids to ease some of their back to school anxiety to see that there's a place for them in class no matter how they're feeling. There's also a fun look and find element to the book that kids are sure to love.

My four year old loved reading this book. He thought the monsters were so funny. Each page has so much to look at. You could read this book multiple times and still find new details! I loved seeing all of the different types of monsters! My favorite was the snug monster. My son also enjoyed the prompt at the end of the book to look for the dog. Definitely recommend this silly book for young kids!

My 3 year old and I had a lot of fun going through this book together! We loved looking at the pages over and over and finding new things each time!

This book is so cute! I read it with my daughter and she really enjoyed it. We loved the illustrations and the rhyming. Getting to the end and then finding a reason to reread it for a scavenger hunt was a great idea, it gave more use to the content and was really fun to do!

Very cute kids book! I read this with my four year old, and he enjoyed the bright colors, silly pictures, and being able to practice emotion words. We liked going back to find all the dogs.

An absolute joy! We're so glad to see the monsters back again. This is a great read-aloud story for back to school. The bright illustrations leap off the page & paired with the short rhyming sentences make for an incredibly fun, happy, humorous read. Readers will love seeing what each monster is up to on each page & searching for dog monster throughout every scene. We cannot wait to purchase this book personally & for our nonprofit organization!

Thank you NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books, and Laura Baker for the early access copy of Monsters at School.

Monsters at School is a story of various monsters school day experience. With rhyming and a rhythmic pattern that will catch children’s attention, this would be a great tool to teach children what the expectations of school are, with some silly twists. This story feels best suited for ages 4-6 with the language and art style used. However, this story is far from limited to that age range. The story can be used as a great teaching tool for elementary school audiences.

The search-and-find component was a pleasant surprise and will be loved by children. Monsters at School is a delightful read.

The illustrations are vibrant and remind me of Todd Parr style.

Monsters at School is an adorable book about school, and all of the people you meet on the first day. The colors, drawings, and the monsters are fun and vivid. The ending was cute because I had not realized there was a dog in each photo.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley for a fair review. #MonstersAtSchool

Before nap time for the two little boys, we do story time. 📖📚Or try to each day 🤪 And today since it was rainy, windy and cold, we did more than normal. The boys LOVED these books. All of them were such cute stories and had fun illustrations. My oldest son asked lots of great questions. My middle son said, “again mommy again!!!” My favorite was Violin of Hope. It was all about the holocaust. Such a great book for elementary school teachers with that topic. It was so heartfelt and had such sweetness to it. The Big Book of Useless Knowledge had my oldest son just bursting with questions, because it was so fun!! I use to teach preschool for five years, so a fun new children’s book is always a joy for me to share with the boys before rest time. Add these to your summer reading lists! Thank you @netgalley for these advance copies.

Violin of Hope by Ella Schwartz (comes out November 4)

Monsters at School by Laura Baker (comes out June 24)

The Day I Had a Dinosaur by Ashley Wall (comes out June 10)

I See You Smile by Deborah Farmer Kris (comes out July 8)

Bubbles the Dragon by Alison Thomas (comes out April 27)

The Big Book of Useless Knowledge (comes out May 13)

I loved everything about this book! The illustrations were beyond adorable and the bright, happy colors immediately made me want to read (even as an adult).

The rhyming patter is perfect & will definitely keep the kiddos engaged. The bonus game introduced at the end made me immediately reread this book!

I can't wait to buy this one for friends with littles.

Oh my gosh! This book is adorable! Who doesn’t like monsters? This book reminds me of a mix of Richard Scary, Where’s Waldo, and Monsters Inc!
This is one of those books where a child can spend so much time looking at all of the details. This probably would’ve been one of my favorites as a kid. Super cute!!

My daughter loved this book. I will definitely purchase when available. The pages were super colorful. I loved how busy there were, perfect for seek and find games with a toddler.

This is a really cute book of monsters at a school (well duh). I really like the art style and how there is so much on every page with so many bright colours that a kid would enjoy looking at. I also like that the writing rhymes. Finally I really liked the variety of the monsters within the story and how this could teach a child about people's individual differences before they start going to school.

This clever, rhyming picture book full of bright colours and engaging detail on every double page spread is perfect for school starters getting ready for September.

With energy bouncing off each page, each depicts a familiar school scene, from drop off all the way to home time in a child friendly way. It is inclusive, every monster looks unique and responds differently to attending school and the activities within the school day.

A great introduction to school life for little ones age 2-5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Happy Yak for sending this eBook for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Great rhythm, fab illustrations, and a whacky tale for young readers about monsters at school. Can you find the dog monster on every page? Such fun!

Whimsical, colorful, entertaining tale about all the Monsters at School. I imagine it could help dispel any fears or anxieties kiddos may have about attending a new learning space, and I loved how it conveyed that we’re all moving through similar struggles.

Simple story with wordplay and rhymes, it’s an easy read and the illustrations are fun to explore, especially when you get to the end prompt to find a certain surprise guest who you can search through each scene for.

Thank you Netgalley for this digital ARC.

The bright colors, illustrations, and creative concept of this book kept my toddler engaged in the book. The added challenge introduced at the end is a great touch for future readings. We loved the characters and overall idea in this.

This was a great picture book for a kindergarten crowd. Very colourful and fun, great illustrations, lots of pictures to look at. Full embraces the chaos of young kids in the classroom, with a fun hidden game of find the dog throughout.

4.5 stars rounded up!

This was a super cute and vibrantly illustrated rhyming book! I could see this book being great for preschool audiences to expose them to the basic concept and structure of school, and for kindergarten and possibly first grade audiences who can begin to relate to the story and pick out the similarities and differences from their own school experiences!

What worked for me:
- The rhymes were rhythmic and easy to read, without having to strain for the right rhyming inflection or speech pattern! Sometimes with rhyming books I have to practice how to say the phrase to make the rhyme rhythm work, but all the rhymes in this one read very lyrically and naturally!
- The bright and visually engaging illustrations are good for capturing and holding a child's wandering attention.

What didn't work for me:
- Towards the middle of the book, the rhyme pattern is changed for two pages (pages 12 & 13 in my ARC copy) and a different rhyming pattern was used. While I can assume the change in rhyme structure was intended to reflect the situation happening on page, as someone who reads books aloud to kids for a living, I feel that this brief change in pattern is disruptive. When reading aloud, it throws off the lyrical rhythm of the story, and when first reading it, I thought the pattern had changed because we were drawing to the close of the book, but when the rhyme pattern switched back and the book continues, it made the rest of it feel almost too long. It especially bothered me because that was the only place that rhyme pattern occurred! If if had happened again at the end, or regular intervals, it would have felt better pacing-wise, but with only two pages in the whole book, it felt out of place.

Overall, I liked this book a lot and I would definitely consider reading it for a storytime, especially with preschool aged kids!