SYNOPSIS:
The Monstrous Me series is a split perspective book looking at situations from another point of view to help children develop a sense of balance, roundedness and wellbeing.
Readers can literally and figuratively, turn the story on its head, and look at the very same situations from different angles.
In this second book, ‘My Daddy is a Monster’ a curious little boy is convinced his dad is a monster. But, is he really? When we look through his dad’s eyes, we see a very different story.
My Thoughts:
I adored the first book in the series 'My Mummy is a Monster' so I was so excited to read and review My Daddy is a Monster. This book follows the same structure as the previous book and is very quirky, appealing to both adults and children. The book begins outlining the children's perspective; Dad breaking their tower that they have spent ages making, cooking them a disgusting dinner, and taking them to a boring football match. When you get to the centre pages you need to flip the book to read the second half of the book titled My Kids are Monsters. Here you hear Dad's perspective of the same story. I love the concept behind the book and the powerful message it is portraying, that there are two sides to every story and that we cannot always see things objectively.
The book features rhyming couplets which makes reading fun and pacey. The illustrations add to the story making it accessible for younger children who can follow along with the reading by using the picture cues to support. What I particular love about this series is that the author uses everyday situations, such as driving to school, dinner time and bed time which every child can relate to. This helps provoke empathy towards the characters and allows them to reflect upon their own lives.
This book was just as enjoyable as the first and I cannot wait to see what Natalie Reeves Billing comes up with next. There are also free downloadable activities on the website: www.lollipoplodge.com.
Madison's Thoughts (aged 7):
I was so excited when I saw this book as I loved reading My Mummy is a Monster. I thought it was a very funny story and because I had read the first book I knew that that things the children were saying about Daddy wasn't necessarily going to be the full truth. I loved it when we flipped the book (it was very cool) and saw Daddy's side of the story. I did feel a bit sorry for Daddy as he was trying his best.
The pictures are bright and colourful and I loved looking for the 'monstrometer' on each page, which was such fun. I think this book would be really good for children aged 4-8 and I can't wait to share it with my friends.
Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to join My Daddy is a Monster blog tour and to Natalie Reeves Billing for keeping us thoroughly entertained with yet another fantastic tale from The Monstrous Me Collection.
About The Author:
Natalie Reeves Billing is a Liverpool lass with a dark sense of humour, which often spills onto the page. She loves to write spooky, fantastical stories for young audiences, and dabbles in poetry, contemporary fiction.
Natalie spent most of her early career in the music industry as a performer and professional songwriter. This lead, almost inevitably, to storytelling. Natalie is an Arvon Foundation friend and is a student of the Golden Egg Academy. She is mentored under the Lloyds Bank SSE program, with her Bubs Literacy project. She is published in several anthologies with her poetry and flash fiction, including the Writing on the Wall, Read Now, Write Now, and is involved in several collaborations with fellow writers across poetry, song, and scriptwriting.
Her new book, My Mummy is a Monster (part of the Monstrous Me collection) will be available in March 2020 and Carry Love in June 2020
Connect with Natalie on Twitter @BillingReeves.