Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

It is listed in the 2009 literary reference book 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. Yet this is an appealing book, sketched in dark brown against grayish pastel backdrops, with evergreen lettering and highlighted keywords.'

Kirkus Reviews called it a 'sweetly original morality play about a very unscary monster', while Publishers Weekly wrote ' Willems's (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! ) finale feels apt but syrupy Leonardo's decision to be nice seems homiletic. Leonardo realizes that he might be a terrible, awful monster-but he could be a really good friend. Finally, he finds a nervous little boy, and scares the tuna salad out of him! But scaring people isn't quite as satisfying as he thought it would be. Determined to succeed, Leonardo sets himself to training and research. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to frighten anyone. Leonardo is truly a terrible monster - terrible at being a monster, that is. In 2007, Weston Woods adapted the book to an animated film, directed by Pete List. An ALA Notable Book, it was released in 2005 by Hyperion Books. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his family.Leonardo, the Terrible Monster is a children's picture book by Mo Willems.

Mo began his career as a writer and animator for television, garnering 6 Emmy awards for his writing on Sesame Street, creating Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats, Cartoon Network’s Sheep in the Big City and head-writing Codename: Kids Next Door. Mo’s work books have been translated into a myriad of languages, spawned animated shorts and theatrical musical productions, and his illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation. The New York Times Book Review called Mo “the biggest new talent to emerge thus far in the 00's.'

In addition to such picture books as Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct, and Time to Pee, Mo has created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of early readers, and published You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons, an annotated cartoon journal sketched during a year-long voyage around the world in 1990-91. #1 New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator Mo Willems is best known for his Caldecott Honor winning picture books Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale.

Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems