Year 1 Challenge Miss Cleveland: Monsters

Grab your cushions of comfort and get ready to for a grisly selection of books based on Year 1s theme: Monsters!

First, it’s important that we know what we are facing… An A to Z Of Monsters And Magical Beings by Rob Hodgson & Aidan Onn is a cornucopia of monstrous information to satisfy the most curious appetites!

Do you know how to escape from a stalking werewolf? Have you always wanted to learn the difference between a hobgoblin and an imp, and do you know the secret to avoiding the sharp claws of the ancient Eloko monster? Learn all these brilliant facts and more with this guide to the strange, scary and wonderful world of monsters and ancient mythical beings!

Spark meaningful discussions about loneliness, friendship, community and coping with loss with this enchantingly illustrated story about a girl who befriends a monster in The Thing At 52 by Ross Montgomery & Richard Johnson, which publishes next month

He was big and lumbering and a wore a tiny top hat perched on top of his rather large head. She didn’t think he had any friends, so she brought him a flower. It wasn’t long before their friendship bloomed… the Thing was gentle and kind and the adventures they went on were the best she could ever imagine. The girl soon discovered that there were many Things, living all over the place… which gave her an idea. She invited them all to a party, and the Things danced till midnight. Thing had never felt so happy. But one day the Thing had to go and their adventures came to an end. All Things have to go sometime

In this poignant story, discover how small acts of kindness can grow into great friendships, and how the community you build from those friendships can provide comfort and companionship when you need it most.

Small! by Hannah Moffatt is a brilliantly funny book about finding your feet in a new school, friendship, and foul food.

Harvey is a small boy in a giant world. On stilts! When Harvey accidentally sets fire to his headteacher’s trousers, Mum decides it’s time for a BIG change and packs him off to Madame Bogbrush’s School for Gifted Giants.But Harvey’s not a giant. He’s a boy on stilts. And if his classmates find out, they’ll stomp him into a sandwich

21% Monster by P.J. Canning is a fun, fast-paced, high-octane action adventure, – the perfect page-turning new series for fans of Alex Rider, Percy Jackson and Marvel.

When Darren Devlin is arrested for destroying his school with his bare hands, it’s not just the police who are after him. Enter Marek Masters, 14 years old, 19% alien, and the most intelligent, most wanted “almost human” alive. Marek is here to tell Darren the truth – he is 21% monster, and together they must take down the secret organisation that created them.

Darren and Marek are wanted, powerful and dangerous. And now it’s payback time.

And finally, I’m sneaking in another book that publishes next month. Buy tissues – you’ll need them from laughing and crying! The Boy Who Made Monsters is utterly, heartbreakingly beautiful storytelling, with Jenny Pearson’s trademark laugh out loud humour.

Benji McLaughlin is a visionary. He believes in things that other people think are impossible, like that he and his brother Stanley will be happy in their new home in Scotland, and that the Loch Lochy monster exists, and that his parents will come home safely one day, even though they’ve been missing for months.

When he finds out that his Uncle Hamish’s Loch Lochy tourist business is struggling, and it looks like Benji and Stanley might lose another home, Benji’s not worried. He has a plan. If he can show everyone that the Loch Lochy monster exists, people will flock to come and see it, and the business will flourish again.

Together with his new friend Murdy and Mr Dog, the best dog in the world, Benji sets off to capture evidence of the monster, even if he has to get a little creative. But Benji might end up confronting more monsters than he expects.

Happy reading!