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Books : The Monster at the End of this Book (Big Little Golden Book)
Rating: 
- A journey of self-reflection and discovery
I recently read The Monster at the End of This Book, by Lovable Furry Old Grover. I picked it up on a lark, figuring it would by a typical horror/thriller throwaway. It followed a pretty obvious course through the old cliches of the genre most of the way through, but the ending threw me for a shock that had me catatonic in existential malaise for weeks afterwards.
NOTE: DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT IT TO BE SPOILED!!!
When I found out that the monster in the book was indeed Grover I thought, "My god... it could be any of us." Yes that's right, the narrator of the book, the kindly and gentle guide through this thrill-ride, was indeed the monster of which he spoke.
This raised many, many questions. It seems from reflection that Grover himself was unaware that he was the monster. However, in the modern and postmodern likelihood of unreliable narration, it seems that it could just of easily been a clever deception by the monster, to lure the reader into his confidence before springing his trap. But the question remains. Does a monster know he is a monster? Or does his twisted logic somehow rationalize his monstrosity and allow it run rampant? Also, if this physically harmless appearance could harbor the monster of the book, doesn't that mean that anyone could be a monster? That "evil has no face" as they say?
Ultimately, it brought me to reflect that one may be a monster and not even be full conscious of the fact. That one may be revealed to be monstrous, but only at the end of a mysterious and terrible life of lies.
Rating:
- Spoilers!
So it turns out that the "monster" is actually the protagonist which, while having shades of postmodern antihero angst that wil reverberate strongly with fans of, say, Kafka or Burroughs, really threw me for a loop as a kid.
My two year old, on the other hand, has no problem with this conceit, and wants me to read it to him regularly.
He'll understand how cruel this all is when he get a bit older.
Oh yes.
In the meantime, I'll read it for him over and over and over and over, and never get tired of it.
Rating: - Timeless Classic
When I was little this was my favorite book. We would read it over and over, and I would pretend I was struggling to turn the pages that Grover had tied, nailed, and bricked over.
So when we had a daughter, this was one of the first books I bought for her. At 2 years old the book sat on the shelves for a while, but she is 3 now, and I recently took it down again to read for her at bedtime. It is now a favorite, we read it every night. I read the pages, then she turns them to give poor old Grover a hard time.
One recommendation...this review is for the standard Little Golden Books version, which is great, but we also found a board book version in stores, so the hard pages are great when you have toddlers turning the pages for you every night. They can really 'struggle' against Grover's efforts without hurting the book.
Rating: - Ideal for the Defiant Toddler
The Monster at the End of this Book is a wonderful tale with the infamous Grover at the center. Grover believes that there is a monster at the end of this book and he is begging you, the reader, not to read to the end because he is scared of the monster.
This is a wonderful book for toddlers. When toddlers are defying you at every second, this book gives them a great, fun excuse to be defiant and keep turning pages. The Monster at the End of this Book is very easy to read and is ideal for making loud noices and being dramatic.
I read this book to my two year often and she loves it. I remember reading this book when I was young and I love being able to share this book with my children.
Rating: - Fun Book for Pre-Schoolers
I used to read this book to my own children and bought this copy for my grandchildren. The book is still as much fun for the grandchildren as it was for my children -- and the best part is I get to watch my children enjoy reading it to their children! It means they have fond memories of me reading to them.
- A journey of self-reflection and discoveryI recently read The Monster at the End of This Book, by Lovable Furry Old Grover. I picked it up on a lark, figuring it would by a typical horror/thriller throwaway. It followed a pretty obvious course through the old cliches of the genre most of the way through, but the ending threw me for a shock that had me catatonic in existential malaise for weeks afterwards.
NOTE: DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT IT TO BE SPOILED!!!
When I found out that the monster in the book was indeed Grover I thought, "My god... it could be any of us." Yes that's right, the narrator of the book, the kindly and gentle guide through this thrill-ride, was indeed the monster of which he spoke.
This raised many, many questions. It seems from reflection that Grover himself was unaware that he was the monster. However, in the modern and postmodern likelihood of unreliable narration, it seems that it could just of easily been a clever deception by the monster, to lure the reader into his confidence before springing his trap. But the question remains. Does a monster know he is a monster? Or does his twisted logic somehow rationalize his monstrosity and allow it run rampant? Also, if this physically harmless appearance could harbor the monster of the book, doesn't that mean that anyone could be a monster? That "evil has no face" as they say?
Ultimately, it brought me to reflect that one may be a monster and not even be full conscious of the fact. That one may be revealed to be monstrous, but only at the end of a mysterious and terrible life of lies.
Rating:
- Spoilers! So it turns out that the "monster" is actually the protagonist which, while having shades of postmodern antihero angst that wil reverberate strongly with fans of, say, Kafka or Burroughs, really threw me for a loop as a kid.
My two year old, on the other hand, has no problem with this conceit, and wants me to read it to him regularly.
He'll understand how cruel this all is when he get a bit older.
Oh yes.
In the meantime, I'll read it for him over and over and over and over, and never get tired of it.
Rating:
- Timeless ClassicWhen I was little this was my favorite book. We would read it over and over, and I would pretend I was struggling to turn the pages that Grover had tied, nailed, and bricked over.
So when we had a daughter, this was one of the first books I bought for her. At 2 years old the book sat on the shelves for a while, but she is 3 now, and I recently took it down again to read for her at bedtime. It is now a favorite, we read it every night. I read the pages, then she turns them to give poor old Grover a hard time.
One recommendation...this review is for the standard Little Golden Books version, which is great, but we also found a board book version in stores, so the hard pages are great when you have toddlers turning the pages for you every night. They can really 'struggle' against Grover's efforts without hurting the book.
Rating:
- Ideal for the Defiant ToddlerThe Monster at the End of this Book is a wonderful tale with the infamous Grover at the center. Grover believes that there is a monster at the end of this book and he is begging you, the reader, not to read to the end because he is scared of the monster.
This is a wonderful book for toddlers. When toddlers are defying you at every second, this book gives them a great, fun excuse to be defiant and keep turning pages. The Monster at the End of this Book is very easy to read and is ideal for making loud noices and being dramatic.
I read this book to my two year often and she loves it. I remember reading this book when I was young and I love being able to share this book with my children.
Rating:
- Fun Book for Pre-SchoolersI used to read this book to my own children and bought this copy for my grandchildren. The book is still as much fun for the grandchildren as it was for my children -- and the best part is I get to watch my children enjoy reading it to their children! It means they have fond memories of me reading to them.
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