Blue Monster

 

Petr Horácek
Age 3-5

Blue Monster is bored and wants someone to play with. He finds Rabbit, but Rabbit is sleeping and not at all interested in playing, so Blue Monster swallows him. When other animals challenge Blue Monster about this, he swallows them too. But now he has no one to play with as he has swallowed them all and he feels lonely and very embarrassed.  

A darkly funny story about friendship with a happy ending (for all concerned!)  in which Blue Monster learns the error of his ways. The illustrations are very engaging, richly coloured and textured.

Watch as Petr Horácek introduces the book

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud to your child, you could think about changing the volume of your voice as you read – for example – to show that Blue Monster speaks very loudly while Rabbit is fast asleep.

Join in
When your child becomes familiar with the book encourage them to join in with the reading perhaps taking the part of Blue Monster or some of the animals in the forest that he encounters, so that you read the book together as if it is a conversation.

Talk about the story
◼︎Talk about Blue Monster’s feelings at different points in the book
◼︎Talk about unfamiliar words or phrases eg ‘guilty’ and ‘looked a bit shifty’
◼︎What would your child say to Blue Monster if they met him?

Things to make and do

Act out the story
Collect together a selection of toys or small figures to represent the characters in the story. Act out the story with your child using the toys to help. It doesn’t matter if you or your child change the words.

Make a picture
The illustrations in the book are a mix of painting, drawing and collage. Collect a mixture of things to make a picture with – this could include crayons, paints and different coloured papers. Look closely at the illustrations in the book together and talk about how they might be made. Encourage your child to make their own picture of part of the story or after the story finishes when Blue Monster and the animals are playing together. Using some of the materials you have collected.

Write a list
What games do you think Blue Monster might play with his friends? Write a list of games to suggest to him together. Play one of the games with family or friends.

Write a message
Find a piece of paper. Help your child to write a message from Blue Monster to Rabbit apologising for swallowing him.

Find out more

Find out more about the book’s creator Peter Horacek

Read more books be Petr Horácek titles include:
A New House for Mouse
Puffin Peter
Tiny Owl’s Scary Day

Silly Suzy Goose Read another story about playing nicely with friends