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Go away, big green monster!
1992
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Die-cut pages through which bits of a monster are revealed are designed to help a child control nighttime fears of monsters - (Baker & Taylor)

A scary green monster begins to disappear, piece by piece and page by page, in a die-cut picture book that lets youngsters take control of the monsters in their lives. - (Baker & Taylor)

OVER 1.3 MILLION COPIES SOLD!  

Caldecott winner Ed Emberley’s classic interactive story lets children scare away their bedtime frights and is silly fun for Halloween and every other day of the year!

As kids turn the die-cut pages of this vibrantly illustrated book, they'll watch the Big Green Monster grow before their very eyes. Then, when they're ready to show him who's in charge, they'll turn the remaining pages and watch him disappear!

Ed Emberley's groundbreaking book about mastering fear and emotion through play and imagination has been a bestselling favorite for decades and feels as fresh and innovative today as it did 30 years ago.
- (Grand Central Pub)

OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD!

This classic interactive book that has been helping children chase away nighttime fears for 25 years is perfect for Halloween--and all-year round!

Caldecott Award-winner Ed Emberley has created an ingenious way for children to overcome bedtime frights. As kids turn the die-cut pages of this vibrantly illustrated book, they'll watch the Big Green Monster grow before their very eyes. Then, when they're ready to show him who's in charge, they'll turn the remaining pages and watch him disappear!

Ed Emberley's groundbreaking book about mastering fear and emotion through play and imagination has been a bestselling favorite for decades and feels as fresh and innovative today as it did 25 years ago.
- (Hachette Book Group)

Author Biography

Ed Emberley is the illustrator and author of over 80 books, including the bestselling Go Away, Big Green Monster! and his enormously popular Drawing Book series. He has received many awards and accolades, including a Caldecott Honor in 1967 and a Caldecott Medal in 1968. Ed lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts, with his family. You can visit him online at edemberley.com. - (Grand Central Pub)

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Trade Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

By turning these stiff, die-cut pages, even very young children can assemble a green monster with ``two big yellow eyes...a long blue nose...[and] a big red mouth with sharp white teeth...'' and then make it go away again, feature by feature. Emberley, a Caldecott medalist whose delightful drawing books demonstrate a combination of rudimentary forms to create a world of images, uses simple shapes in bright colors to build a scowling, cartoonish face that seems to float against the solid black field- -scary, but deliciously so. A satisfying game that may also allay some nighttime fears. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright 1999 Kirkus Reviews

Publishers Weekly Reviews

The Caldecott Medalist makes wonderful use of innovative production techniques in this ingenious offering. Differently diecut and boldly colored pages reveal increasingly scary features of a big green monster--on the first spread, we see two big yellow eyes; on the second, the eyes plus a long blue nose; and so on, until the monster is fully unmasked. But that's only half the story. ``You don't scare me!'' reads the caption after the monster is shown in all its horror. Turn more pages and, one by one, the scary features disappear, as does, of course, the monster. ``And don't come back! Until I say so,'' the text concludes. A joy to read aloud, the simple story entertains even as it helps its audience master common fears. Emberley's striking approach should win him new fans aplenty. Ages 3-8. (Apr.) Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Die-cut holes in the cover reveal the "two big yellow eyes" of the title hobgoblin in Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley (first published in 1992). The sturdy laminated pages that follow also have die-cuts that show the monster's fleshy "long bluish-greenish nose," "a big red mouth with sharp white teeth" and more. But the text gives readers the confidence ("You don't scare me!") to take away its scary features with each succeeding page turn until he's gone-"and don't come back! Until I say so." A fun way to conquer fears. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal Reviews

PreS-- A graphic delight. In the tradition of Lois Ehlert's Color Zoo (1989) and Color Farm (1990, both HarperCollins), this is a clever series of die-cut pages that lets children construct and then deconstruct a big green monster. The book starts with a black page, and two round eyes gleaming through the text. ``Big Green Monster has two big yellow eyes.'' Each page adds a new adjective-laden element, including a ``long bluish-greenish nose'' and ``scraggy purple hair'' until the culmination of effects prompts a response of, ``YOU DON'T SCARE ME! SO GO AWAY . . . .'' Each subsequent page subtracts one of the scary pieces until the last page is entirely black, featuring the words, ``and DON'T COME BACK! Until I say so.'' This imaginative original work is a most friendly way in which children can take control over their own ``monsters'' or nightmares. It also has great visual appeal because of the bold interplay between shape and color. --Elizabeth Hanson, Chicago Public Library Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information.

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