My Monsterpiece van Amalia Hoffman is een prentenboek, maar tevens een boek dat de creativiteit van menig jonge lezer zal prikkelen.

De cover en titel slaan op een kind dat enge monsters probeert te maken – met verf, kleurpotlood, stift, stukken afgeknipt en gekleurd papier etc. – maar familieleden zien allerlei andere niet-enge dingen in deze creaties. Wat nu?

De eerste illustratie die je ziet als je het boek openslaat, is al meteen geweldig. Het is in de stijl waarin een kind zou kunnen tekenen, maar de kleuren zijn perfect op elkaar afgesteld. En de vier monsters zijn super vrolijk en leuk. Al is dat natuurlijk nou juist niet de bedoeling, haha. De monsters moeten eng zijn!

De gemaakte monsters zijn lekker ongepolijst. Daardoor denken kinderen hopelijk enthousiast ‘zoiets kan ik ook!’. Ook wordt de herkenbare frustratie van iets tekenen en dat degene aan wie je het laat zien het dan helemaal verkeerd begrijpt – cute i.p.v. scary – heel goed weergegeven in het verhaal.

Het thema is: je mag buiten de lijntjes kleuren (letterlijk, haha). Soms denk je dat iets ‘zo hoort’ bv. ‘monsters moeten eng zijn’ maar dat is vaak helemaal niet zo. Je hoeft dingen niet op een bepaalde manier te doen. Anders is niet hetzelfde als ‘fout’ of ‘mislukt’. Laat je creativiteit zegevieren en bepaal je eigen regels!

What a great idea for a book! It's very common for young children to draw pictures that us adults don't recognise as what the child originally intended. Instead of being disappointed, the child comes up with creative and different ways to achieve their masterpiece! An absolutely adorable story with unique and colourful illustrations.

What small child doesn’t like to howl and roar, pretending to be a fearsome creature? Amalia Hoffman’s young narrator seeks affirmation for a series of monster pictures that are intended to scare family members and friends but which have the exact opposite effect. Calling the artwork, “cute” and “funny,” the recipients aren’t frightened at all! But the child is a clever problem-solver, finding a new angle for creativity. And creativity is Hoffman’s own calling card with her vibrant colors and convincing, child-like illustrations that incorporate cookies, popcorn, paper plates, crayons and so many other objects kids can identify. Joyful and humorous, this sweet tale will satisfy little ones—even the ones who insist they want to be scared.

In this story, an unseen narrator is on a mission to craft the scariest monsters to frighten their family and friends. The narrator finds that everyone views their creations as adorable and silly. She begins thinking about if monsters craft scary kids and what could happen if they all start to embrace the silliness and love and explore the possibilities.

It takes a lot to get me visibly excited about a new children's book. Have an extremely voracious reader for a child has exposed me to an endless flow of kid's books. While so many are quite good and lovely, few are memorably downright delightful. <i>My Monsterpiece</i> is exactly that. Right out of the gate, it's colorful but not too loud and the story moves a quick and fun pace. My 4.5 year old had hearts in her eyes while we read it, she kept thanking me for getting it for her because she loved it so much.

The book is constructed with mixed media and that is almost always an automatic win to my heart because it makes the book appear textured, which builds a more realistic engagement between my kiddo and the story. By the end of the story, she was chomping at the bit for us to make our own "scary" arts and crafts monsters. I love that it inspired a desire for creativity in my child. We will absolutely be purchasing a physical copy to experience it. I would recommend this one for ages 3-8, it's got a little something for all the littles.

<b>My Mastercrafter Monster Loving Sidekick's Opinion:</b> "<i>EVERY SINGLE PART OF THIS BOOK IS MY FAVORITE. ALL THE PAGES!! It looks like the same as Pinkalicious</i> [mixed media artwork] <i>and it is the coolest, all the monsters are so pretty. I really like the beginning pages too!</i> [the endpaper doodle designs on the inside of the covers]."

[bookcover:My Monsterpiece|55348976]
My rating: ★★★★★
My child's rating: (✿ ♥‿♥)
<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Yeehoo Press for providing us with a free digital copy in exchange for our honest review and opinion</i>

My Monsterpiece by Amilia Hoffman is a creative and colorful visual experience with a wonderful, positive message. It's a book ripe for a read aloud, invitation to young writers and makers, and wide sharing with growing readers. Enthusiastically recommended!

This is a fun mixed-media piece that is meant to teach children... and maybe all of us... that the expectations we have about the world around us might not be as you think they are. What if the preconceived notions you have can be turned on their head?

This short, colorful, creative book tells the story of a child trying to create a scary monster but doesn't quite succeed. But the lessons learned along the way are really cute and exactly what I'd want to have on hand for my nephew.

My Monsterpiece is an abstract art book that my daughter just loved. She loved seeing the transition of the monster as the artist continued to modify and change its creation. She instantly went off and built her own monsterpiece.

The book is funny, endearing, and beautifully illustrated. I like how the story is told from a child’s pov, in the way that makes you feel like you’re actually there too, being shown all these quirky monsterpieces!

Amalia Hoffman made this amazing children's picture book that helps us to find our own creativity and let's us know that it doesn't matter what others think about our piece of art. It shows us - or children - that it's perfect just the way it is! That it's okay, even if someone else thinks it's something different than you wanted it to be.

A perfectly good message that every child and educator should remember. In creativity there is no right or wrong, let's remember that.

Besides that this book shows children that scary is a very subjective thing - what I find scary doesn't have to be scary for anyone else. What scares us makes us who we are - and here it also is just fine! We are who we are and that's okay. Let's never forget this.

The beautiful illustrations will let many children see that what they make is great - because it looks a like. A childrens piece of art in a childrens book - what else do we want!

'My Monsterpiece' is a fun book with wonderfully vibrant illustrations! The narrator draws amazing monsters and imagines ways his monsters can connect him with his family and friends. Preschooler to 1st graders will love this one!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

I received an electronic ARC from Yeehoo Press through NetGalley.
Beautiful multimedia illustrations support this story about a child who wants to scare their family. They create monster after monster and finally decide that maybe monsters don't have to be scary. They drift into imagination about a young monster who moves through this same process in reverse and decides that a child doesn't have to be scary.
The text is simple to follow for preschool and lower elementary readers. Clever idea about acceptance and changing your point of view.

This was an adorable book about a kid trying to scare their family with pictures of scary monsters...only for the family to them how cute all of the drawings are. So the kid imagines what would happen if a monster tried to do the same thing, and failed the scare their family with pictures of scary children.
The art is collage style and my kids loved it! The colors are bright and fun, and the monsters both fit the scary and cute descriptions given.
This was a great book, and I highly recommend it! My kids had a blast reading it with me (and the 6 year old read it to us!)

This is a cute and colorful story! This would be perfect for a monster themed story time or even and art themed story time.

The story didn’t do much for; It felt sort of rushed. However, the illustrations were very eye catching and creative. My oldest son loves art and I think he would enjoy this book because the monsters are so fun and unique.

Very creative. Love the bright colors and all the different mediums used for crafting. Lots of textures portrayed in the book.

My kid and I LOVED this book! There was just the right mix of art, humor, and messaging on acceptance. We had a great time talking about the silly features of the different monsters, and he even came up with a few ideas for his own monster! I love a book that sparks creativity.

I will absolutely purchase this and recommend it to friends.

The art style in this book really intrigued me, the realistic style isn't one I see a lot in children's books but it's one I like. I think this book would be great for a pre-k student. This book, in particular, would be great paired with a craft, the pictures are of monsters made from craft pieces which could be done in person after reading the book.

A cute book about monsters, but also about accepting difference. A child draws a monster to scare the family members - but each time, they are not scared but find the monster rather cute and laugh about it. In the end, the child ponders the question whether a monster has to be scary at all, and whether little monsters draw pictures of humans to scare their family. In the end, child and monster come together as friends on the monsterpiece... The repetition of the steps draw monster - scare family member - who is not scared at all - draw new monster and so on is a great method to be used in a children's picture book, as they learn what to expect and relish the next 'scare'. Also, the story tells about varying perceptions and how first impressions can differ, and that scary is relative. In the end, we learn that making friends with something or somebody different can be the best solution.

Regarding the pictures, I loved the combination of drawn and photographic elements. I wonder whether the skillful execution of the wonderful monster drawings may intimidate kids who are self-conscious about their own drawing abilities, but I guess with a little encouragement soon all kids will eagerly draw their own monsterpiece.

(thanks to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)

Through amazing artwork and a cute story, follow a child’s journey to create their ultimate “Monsterpiece.” My Monsterpiece is a colorfully illustrated, fun and hilarious story about a child just trying to get a scare out of someone in their family.
In this book, follow a young child as they create some of the most imaginative monsters to share with their family members to try and get a scare out of them. Unfortunately for the young child, their family do not see the monsters as monsters, but as other animals, creatures, or magical beings. This does not make the child happy so with each let down, they come back with more determination and an even more creative monster.
I found the frustration of the child cute as it reminded me of my own young children when they create artwork that I, as an adult, do not entirely understand or see in the same way they do. One of the reasons why I often ask them to “tell me about your art!” Luckily, the child does not let this get them down and they continue to create their monsters with the monsters becoming more and more colorful and imaginative each time.
Eventually, the child comes to the realization that monsters do not need to be scary to be fun or enjoyable for others and themselves. They begin to create monsters representing each person in their family who did not understand their original monsterpieces. One monster enjoys cookies like mom, another popcorn for dad, a monster like their sister who loves to color and more. Also, the child wonders what if there is a monster out in the world who loves to make scary things as much as they do? Would this monster make pictures of a scary kid? Maybe the monster would realize something like what the young child does? Does the child eventually create their Monsterpiece? You should read and find out.
I will say it again, I can not get over the illustrations in My Monsterpiece. They blew my mind. Full of color, they literally were children’s art projects on the page and looked as though I could grab them straight out of the page. My children adored the pictures and even wanted to try and create some of the monsters on their own. Which I think would be a perfect activity to go along with this super fun and cute book.
My Monsterpiece is set to release February 23, 2021. I give it five stars because it is a well thought out idea and story with some fantastic illustrations.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun read! As a K-5 art teacher, one of my favorite lessons is to have children create "imaginary animals/creatures". This book would be a great way to inspire my youngest students to create creatures, and that monsters don't have to be scary! I loved the illustrations in this book as well.