Mind Over Monster! My Monster and Me by Nadiva Hussain

THIS IS MY MONSTER.

AND THIS IS me.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THERE.

The boy is little. The Monster is huge, with a great big yellow belly and two sharp horns.

Nobody else can even see the Monster. When the boy tries to tell his mom about him, he disappears. And later, the Monster gets even bossier, keeping him inside when he wants to play outside with his friends. One day he even follows him over to his Gran's house. She asks why he is crying!

And finally he tells her.

I TOLD HER HOW MY MONSTER WOULDN'T LEAVE ME ALONE. EVER.

And as he speaks, suddenly his Monster begins to shrink, growing smaller until he fits in the boy's pocket.

And the boy is fine with that.

MY MONSTER IS PART OF ME. WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER SINCE THE BEGINNING.

But the Monster now knows who's the boss, in Nadiva Hussain's My Monster and Me (Viking, 2021). Hussain's message, that fears are part of the human condition, is given a soft sell in this easy-going picture book, illustrated with gentle humor by Ella Bailey, which reaffirms FDR's maxim that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." And talking about fears helps helps cut them down to size before they turn into constant anxiety. "Charming and effective," says Kirkus Reviews' starred review.