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What do you do when you hear a thing go ‘bump’ in the night? A very good question, especially if you are Clarice Caroline who is afraid of EVERYTHING. No kidding, this dear wee girl is scared of a mighty list of things ranging from the usual spiders, wasps, loud noises, heights and snakes to the not so usual broccoli, balls, carrots, and bicycles.
That Clarice Caroline is a ‘shy and timid little girl who is neither courageous nor adventurous’, is nicely built up with examples of her reactions to scary things and serves to draw us into questioning just why she is up in the middle of the night. In the dark. This tension is further drawn out with spooky illustrations and word imagery: floorboards c-r-e-a-k-i-n-g and tall, whispery walls and echoey halls. The scenes and book design add to the building drama – she’s going down the dark hall… she’s opening the door… she’s peeking into a dark, dark room… you get the idea.
She reaches for the light…
And here we see just why this scared, timid girl has braved the night. To say more would spoil the surprise. Suffice to say it turns out that Clarice Caroline can indeed be brave when she needs to.
This is a great story to read aloud together; lots of opportunities for shrieking, squealing and screaming along with Clarice Caroline (apologies if it gets too loud!) as well as pauses for dramatic effect. I also enjoyed the vocabulary introduced here, words young readers wouldn’t often see these days: woozy, nor, mettle, pluck (as in courage), bottle (as in brave), and chutzpah.
Most kids enjoy a bit of a scare and Did You Hear a Monster? delivers them a monster story with just the right amount of drama and spookiness, well balanced with comic relief in the form of funny facial expressions in the illustrations and the surprise ending. This edition comes with a CD which includes a read-along version of the story, as well as two songs from the author. Pitched at littlies, they are cheery and catchy ditties that tie in with the story.
A lot of young readers may relate to Clarice Caroline and her numerous fears. How reassuring for them to know that others are also scared of things which may seem silly to our friends. And how reassuring to see that even though we might be scared of things, we can still be brave when it really counts.
Reviewed by Vanessa Hatley-Owen
Did you Hear a Monster?
by Raymond McGrath
Penguin Random House 2016
ISBN: 9780143309130
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