-
Elinormal Saga
$24.95 × 1 -
Supernatural Shakespeare: Magic and Ritual in Merry Old England
$19.95 × 1 -
The F Words
$15.95 × 1 -
Exploring Science and Art
$19.95 × 1 -
City of My Heart
$19.95 × 1
Subtotal : $100.75
GAYLE H SWIFT –
I thoroughly enjoyed The Monster in My Basement written and sung by David Preston, and illustrated by Heather Lynn Harris Charming, delightful, and joyous! Will David be the monster’s dinner guest or his dinner? Does the monster consider him a friend or food? Monsters can make great friends, right? Right?
I shared this entertaining book with my five-year-old grandson. He’s a hard nut to crack when it comes to books. He’d much prefer to be in motion. If he’s reading, his preferred topic is anything that goes vroom! He found The Monster in My Basement engaging and enjoyable.
The riotous story offered the added benefit of some valuable messages: be kind, help out at home, don’t pre-judge things, and choose to be brave. Harriss’s imaginative illustrations explode with color that reflects the romping energy of the story. David’s music drew my little one in so that we shared a fun and worthwhile read together. The repeating refrain enhanced the suspense and increased our engagement in the story. My little one could easily empathize with the hero’s fear of becoming the main entrée for the monster family. The “surprise” ending satisfied and pleased him. I highly recommend this book and sincerely hope this duo creates more books.
Bev Compertore –
We gave this book to our grandchildren, ages 2, 5, and 6. They love it! Listening to author/composer Dave’s music online makes it so much fun to “Shake Shake Shake” with the chorus each time little Dave is afraid. Our granddaughter played it over and over, following the story and turning the pages alone. The next morning she woke up and went straight for the “Howard” (the monster) book. Her two year old brother even starting humming along in the bathtub! Heather’s illustrations are bright and colorful and as engaging as the song/story. Little Dave keeps wondering if he’s made a big mistake in befriending the monster…but (spoiler alert) not to worry the surprise ending will make you “laugh a little bit, laugh a little bit, ha ha ha ha ha!” I highly recommend this book for all children! (PS It’s my husband’s favorite kid book too!)
Verified Customer –
Instant Classic
I’m a music teacher and my students request this book over and over! Its fun to read and even more fun to sing. The story is so entertaining and imaginative, the pictures are cute and colorful and the song is very catchy. Definitely a must-have for every school or home library.
Katie –
This book is one of my students’ absolute favorites and has become an instant classic! Its fun to read and equally fun to sing. It comes with a download code so you can hear Mr. Dave sing it himself. The kids love to sing along and are enraptured by the story in between bouts of “shaking and laughing!”
Debbie Smith –
Oh my goodness. This is a book that’s impossible not to love. And since I have several elementary teachers in my family I can imagine this being read and then sung in classrooms.
I liked it before I listened to the song sung by children’s musician Dave Preston, but after hearing the catchy tune I love it. And as you can see, the illustrations by Heather Lynn Harris are adorable. I can imagine these pages being flipped through while singing.
And the monster . . . really, not so scary after all. Okay, I guess that is debatable. But he won’t always give that appearance. Many times attitudes can change even the . . . oddest of us.
I highly recommend this fun book and song to everyone. Music teachers, classroom teachers, parents, and caregivers, this is a book to pick up for you little ones.
Concerns
I found only one itty bitty concern that can be taken care of easily. When the “monster” asks the boy to come with him, the boy does end up following. He mentions
“I tried to answer, ‘No, sir,’ but I found it hard to talk.
So he grabbed my hand and we began to walk.”
Okay, we all know leaving home with a monster is probably not a great idea. Folks, this is a storybook. It can easily be mentioned that it’s a song and a silly story. Not real. No one should allow themselves to be lead from home by a monster or any other creature.
So, in my way of thinking, this is a concern barely worth mentioning.
What I Liked
Everything! This fun little book even comes with piano music (melody) at the back. And in case you missed the link earlier, I’m including it again.
My thanks to City of Light Publishing for a copy of this book and the ability to post my opinion of it.
Eastern Sunset Reader –
Spooky Without Being Scary
“My Review: I was so excited to read this book, basements are such scary things for little ones (and lets be honest some big people too). This is a perfect read around Halloween when everything seems scary especially strange noises (like the heat kicking on for the first time in a while) and the darkness of fall. While this book does seem rather scary and spooky, have no fear, it really isn’t like that at all. The illustrations are bold and pretty bright and honestly awfully cute for a monster book. It has a great message about making assumptions on what you see and hear about other . . . creatures. Kids will love the ending of this book and it will leave you all on a high note, no fear about nightmares or monsters in the basement. On an added note, this book has the extra benefit of having a song that goes with it that will get the little ones up an moving too!
My Rating: This was such a fun book, just spooky enough for the Halloween season but not over the top scary for those little ones. I give it a rating of Four Paws!”
Whispering Stories Book Blog –
A cute book that has a happy ending so you don’t need to worry about your children being scared.
“Whilst playing little Dave comes across a monster in his basement that looks all sad and lonely. Dave asks the monster what is wrong and he tells him that he is hungry and would like a bite to eat.
Dave wonders what kind of food the monster would like. He then has a thought that the monster might like to eat him. He tries to back away but the monster grabs his hand and tells him he is taking him to his cave. Dave is scared. Is the monster really going to eat him?
The Monster in my Basement is a short, fun picture book perfect for children at this time of year. It has bright, colourful, full-page illustrations that are so adorable, and whilst this is a book about a little boy and a monster, children won’t be scared by how he looks with his red fluffy skin and zebra horns.
The story is very sweet and even comes with music at the end that can be played or just sung. Plus, there is a QR code in which children (via an adult) can listen to the song and dance along.
Overall, this is a cute book that has a happy ending so you don’t need to worry about your children being scared. I get that this is a work of fiction and a bit of fun but it might be a good idea to explain to children when you read the book that they should never go off with a stranger – even a monster stranger!! just like Dave does.
Tina Loves to Read –
Silly Cute Story With a Great Message
This is a children’s book that my 10-year-old daughter and I read to my 6-year-old twin boys. The pictures in this book are so cute, and I love them so much. This was a cute and fun story that all my kids really enjoyed reading/listening to. My boys laughed so hard during parts of this story. This is a silly book, but has a great message about not judging people/monsters just by what they look like. I feel how the world is right now that this is a super important message. I have really been loving reading to my kids lately, and I am glad I have found some new favorites. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.
madge d. –
A super Monster
I really loved this book, it is entertaining and so easy for a child to follow. It is funny and helps a child to know that it is not scary
Tom Pekich –
An Instant Favorite
“What an amazing book for children – a very entertaining story AND a fun action song to sing-a-long to with Dave – all included between the covers of “The Monster in My Basement”!!! And then there are the most colorful, adorable, and well-correlated pictures to enjoy too!
I bought this book to be a Christmas present for my 4 grandchildren ( all siblings) but after reading it myself, I couldn’t wait when my oldest grandchild (age 8) Face Timed with me, and I showed it to her. As I turned the pages, she read Howard’s story to me. It was easy for her to read it to me with lots of expression because of Dave’s clever and creative way of writing. She loved the story, giggled at the humor, and was singing the “Shake, Shake” song
as we said good bye. She promised not to tell her younger siblings (ages 2,4,and 6) and I’m going to try not to also. But I know that they are going to love it too!
Howard is definitely not a scary type of monster, but one instead who instantly becomes a lovable, favorite friend!”
Mary M Hastings –
Endearing story
We bought this book for all of our grandchildren. They love the story and the music is charming. I love how they always pop up and dance when we get to the “shake a little bit” part.
EJ –
Shake it up
The Monster in My Basement is SOOOOO much more than a monster story. It will make you dance..shake shake shake. It will make you and your kids want to turn the page. Make no mistake, this story gives us all reason to believe in friendship, tolerance, and understanding and the importance of acceptance of others. It does so while making you smile and giggle (and shake some more!). The illustrations are bold and colorful and the print font matches the words in a special way. Just be ready to read it over and over again.
Marty Cusimano –
Dave Preston’s wonderful song is now a delightful book!
“The Monster in My Basement is a must read every time the grandkids come to visit…even thought they have copies at their own houses. We just love to “”shake a little bit. Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake!””
This is also an excellent book to use in discussing fears and making mistakes with young children.”
Emi Mae –
Super Cute!
Super cute book about a boy who finds a monster in his basement and the monster is hungry and would like to take the boy to dinner. Dave, the boy goes along with Howard, the monster to Howard’s cave. Along the way they pick up some supplies, causing Dave to wonder if this was a good idea after all. What will happen to Dave? Will he be monster food, or something else? Read this adorable book and find out what happens to Dave and his new “friend.” (Here’s a hint: it’s a happy ending.) Filled with colorful illustrations and a fun story, you and your children will love this book. Perfect for early elementary school ages. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
VLGReader –
Engaging Story And Song!
This story, and its accompanying song, is delightful! My grandchildren ages 1 – 9 still ask me to read it to them even though they have heard it dozens of times. They join in on the chorus and shake it up with their bodies while we read. There is just enough suspense that it keeps children engaged the entire time, but is not too scary. The story is a great avenue for having discussions with children about making assumptions about others and the importance of communicating your feelings.
Anonymous –
Wonderful Interactive Children’s Book!
Our family LOVES this book! The story line is exciting and keeps the kids attention (and adults too!) The illustrations are great! The QR code makes it interactive! We also bought one for our nephews and would suggest this book for Christmas gifts! We love Dave Preston’s children’s CD’s and he is also a great author- put those together and you have The Monster in My Basement!
Sue8 –
An Instant Favorite
“What an amazing book for children – a very entertaining story AND a fun action song to sing-a-long to with Dave – all included between the the covers of “ The Monster in My Basement”! And then there are the most colorful, adorable, and well- correlated pictures to enjoy too!!
I bought this book to be a Christmas present for our 4 grandchildren (all siblings) but after reading it myself, I couldn’t wait when my oldest grandchild (age 8) FaceTimed with me, and I showed it to her. As I turned the pages, she read Howard’s story to me. It was easy for her to read it to me with lots of expression because of Dave’s clever and creative way of writing. She loved the story, giggled at the humor, and was singing the “Shake Shake” song as we said good bye. She promised not to tell her younger siblings (ages 2,4,6) and I’m going to try not to also, but I know they are all going to love it too.
Howard is definitely not the scary type of monster, but one instead who instantly becomes a lovable, favorite friend!”
EMOJ –
Make no mistake… The Monster in My Basement is not your ordinary monster story. Be prepared to thoroughly enjoy the text and illustrations of the story with each bold, bright and colorful page. You and your children should also be ready to shake shake shake as you read the story of friendship and acceptance. The audio version is equally enjoyable as Mr. Dave sings to us. My five grandchildren laugh their way through the story and to me, that’s a signature sign of a terrific story book.
Anonymous –
Funny, Warm, Magical Book For Kids
“The cutest, funniest book. The “”shake a little bit”” refrain absolutely *always* gets my students laughing, and the voices of both little Dave and Howard the Monster are funny, warm, and so relatable for kids. I’m a creative writing teacher, and while I do read this book to very young students, I mainly use it as a model with elementary students for how to begin thinking about writing and illustrating their own picture books–it’s that good! In terms of classroom use, in a world so presently frightening and full of real monsters, these messages of “”things are not always what they seem”” and “”friends can be found in unlikely places”” have sparked some really good talks for me. I love this book so very much.
P.S. The author is my father-in-law, he paid me millions for this review. Just kidding, but, truly, this is a big-hearted, magical book, it’s just a bonus that I know the guy who wrote it.”
budnoel –
My Grandkids Love This Book!!
I bought a copy for each of my grand-daughters last year for Christmas. Although they love to read and are frequent patrons of our local library they still keep pulling their copies of “The Monster in my Basement” out for “Papa” to read to them when I visit. The song is just an extra plus!!!
Clary_Linda_Starfall –
Loved It
“Omg this such an cute story
My nieces were thrilled reading it, and kept singing the song ‘Howard’
Very well done, the illustrations are very cute, the text easy and little so it’s easy to understand
Loved it”
Julie Bunn –
Interactive Children’s Book
Our family LOVES this book! The story line is exciting and keeps the kids attention (and adults too!) The illustrations are great! The QR code makes it interactive! We also bought one for our nephews and would suggest this book for Christmas gifts! We love Dave Preston’s children’s CD’s and he is also a great author- put those together and you have The Monster in My Basement!
Cecily lulu –
Well worth it!
Not only a fantastic book, but a super fun catchy song to sing along to with your kids. Mr Dave would come sing at our school every Tuesday and it was the highlight of the kids day. You won’t be disappointed with this book!! I don’t even have kids, but I just had to get a copy for myself anyway.
HH –
Love this book
A great addition to our children’s library. Also a special gift for expecting parents.
Molly hastings –
This book has a great story that has humor for all to enjoy. In addition, there is a link to an audio so you can listen to the author put music to the story. Kids will love it.
HiLife –
Attractively illustrated book, prose easily accessible to young children and fun for adults to read. Teaches character lessons in a very compassionate way .Finally, companion digital materials are spirited and delightful and actually add to the experience.
Marty and Mike –
Dave Preston’s Wonderful Song Is Now A Delightful book!
“The Monster in My Basement is a must read every time the grandkids come to visit…even thought they have copies at their own houses. We just love to “”shake a little bit. Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake!””
This is also an excellent book to use in discussing fears and making mistakes with young children.”
Sara –
Advanced Reader Copy provided by CrissCross AppleSauce via Netgalley
This book is about a boy named Dave who finds a monster in his basement. The monster is hungry but Dave can’t find any food that he thinks the monster will like so the monster takes Dave to his house to eat. Dave is scared that the monster, Howard, is going to eat him but he ends up being safe and just eats dinner with Howard and his mom.
The cover of this book is one of my favorite parts, it’s very attention-grabbing and I think kids would find it intriguing. I also LOVED that there was a song included in the back of the book with a link to hear it, kids would love singing along.
One thing I noticed that some people won’t like is how Dave left his house even though he was scared of the monster just because he didn’t want to be rude. Obviously, this isn’t a message we want to send to children, to go with someone when you don’t know them and are scared of them, but I think discussing it afterward would be perfectly sufficient.
gayle h. swift –
Charming, delightful, and joyous! I shared this entertaining book with my five-year-old grandson. He’s a hard nut to crack when it comes to books. He’d much prefer to be in motion or reading about anything that moves, He found The Monster in My Basement engaging and enjoyable.
I found it a hoot with the added benefit of some valuable messages: be kind, help out at home, don’t pre-judge things, and choose to be brave. Harriss’s imaginative illustrations explode with color that reflects the romping energy of the story. David’s music drew my little one in so that we shared a fun and worthwhile read together. The repeating refrain enhanced the suspense and increased our engagement in the story. My little one could easily empathize with the hero’s fear of becoming the main entrée for the monster family. The “surprise” ending satisfied and pleased him.
I highly recommend this book and sincerely hope this duo creates more books.
Stacy Renee –
I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A little boy named Dave finds a monster in his basement! When the monster invites Dave along for dinner, he isn’t quite sure what to do! When he ends up in the monster’s cave, he wonders if he’s made a BIG mistake!
This is a fun picture book about hungry monsters that can be read by itself, but…
this book is also a song!
The song and the story behind The Monster In My Basement can be found on howardthemonster.com!
While this picture book can be read easily without listening to the song, it really does make it a lot more fun and interactive! The repeating chorus bit is a lot of fun and the story has colorful and descriptive text to go along with the illustrations!
Pick A Good Book –
Oh my goodness. This is a book that’s impossible not to love. And since I have several elementary teachers in my family I can imagine this being read and then sung in classrooms.
I liked it before I listened to the song sung by children’s musician Dave Preston, but after hearing the catchy tune I love it. And as you can see, the illustrations by Heather Lynn Harris are adorable. I can imagine these pages being flipped through while singing.
And the monster . . . really, not so scary after all. Okay, I guess that is debatable. But he won’t always give that appearance. Many times attitudes can change even the . . . oddest of us.
I highly recommend this fun book and song to everyone. Music teachers, classroom teachers, parents, and caregivers, this is a book to pick up for you little ones.
Concerns
I found only one itty bitty concern that can be taken care of easily. When the “monster” asks the boy to come with him, the boy does end up following. He mentions
“”I tried to answer, ‘No, sir,’ but I found it hard to talk.
So he grabbed my hand and we began to walk.””
Okay, we all know leaving home with a monster is probably not a great idea. Folks, this is a storybook. It can easily be mentioned that it’s a song and a silly story. Not real. No one should allow themselves to be lead from home by a monster or any other creature.
So, in my way of thinking, this is a concern barely worth mentioning.
What I Liked
Everything! This fun little book even comes with piano music (melody) at the back. And in case you missed the link earlier, I’m including it again.
My thanks to City of Light Publishing for a copy of this book and the ability to post my opinion of it.