pippadaisy's Full Review: Ed Emberley - Go Away, Big Green Monster!
My six-year-old decided to surprise me at his kindergarten open house; apparently, he'd learned to read but kept it from me until almost the end of school. Now that the cat's out of the bag, he's determined to show off his new skill at every opportunity, and chose Ed Emberley's Go Away, Big Green Monster! to read aloud to his younger brother and sister.
::: The Monster :::
Go Away, Big Green Monster! is one of those "gimmick" books that actually works very well. Each page is craftily cut out to show new facets of the monster -- his eyes, his ears, his teeth -- to name a few. Each item has its own color, as well, from white teeth to purple hair. Each page turned shows one more piece of the monster until he's finally complete, and then you start making the monster go away piece by piece until he's gone, reversing the process.
::: The Reader :::
Go Away, Big Green Monster! is an excellent book for both beginning readers and kids who are afraid of things that go bump in the night. The repetitive text helps beginning readers gain confidence as they go through the book, since the same colors and parts of the monster are repeated as the monster appears and disappears. The book is also great for reinforcing colors, which my toddler is still working on.
For little ones who are afraid of imaginary monsters, Go Away, Big Green Monster! gives them power over the monster; as you read each page, more and more of the monster eventually disappears until he is totally gone, giving little ones a coping strategy.
If I have one complaint about the book, it would be the page cut-outs. I can't imagine owning this book, because even the well-cared-for library book was missing the monster's nose (making it hard to explain to the children that there WAS a green nose that had ripped). This was a great book to borrow, but in my crazy house, it would have been completely ruined in no time.
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