Go Away Big Green Monster

* Emberly, Ed. Go Away Big Green Monster. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1992.

"Big green monster has two big yellow eyes, a long bluish-greenish nose..." So begins the incantation that brings the big green monster to life, page by page, in tandem with cumulative single-colour die-cut pages. As the story begins, the cut-away portions of each black pages reveal a larger part of the monster's face until the image culminates in a full monster face. Then the narrator tells the monster to go away, and a part of the monster face disappears from the layers of the portrait with each page turn. This simple story relies on a shifting relationship between text and image: At first the text is reactive, describing each new image as it appears; then, in the second half, the text makes a demand and the action of turning the page responds to that demand by making the corresponding part of the monster disappear.

A beautifully created book, and the invitation to participate makes for a satisfying read-aloud or bedtime ritual.