Anthony the Perfect Monster

Angelo DeCesare validates feelings real kids have by allowing his main character, Anthony, to be angry, sad, lonesome and happy - whatever the appropriate emotion is at the time. As a reading specialist, I have read this book with elementary school children. They find Anthony to be a very engaging character. They love when he turns into a monster and goes to school. They easily relate to being teased by other students because they are different. The book is great for initiating converstions about feelings and appropriate and unacceptable reactions to how one is feeling.

Anthony the Perfect Monster has been selected for Children's Choices for 1997, a poll of 10,000 school children in the U.S. conducted by the International Reading Association-Children's Book Council Joint Committee

Anthony is a little boy who thinks that no one will like him unless he's "perfect." He tries to live up to this impossible standard by being helpful and obedient all the time, but this doesn't work for long. When Anthony gets angry on the first day of school, he deals with it by imagining himself a monster, since monsters don't have to be perfect. With the help of an insightful and caring teacher, Anthony finds out that he can accept himself, with all his imperfections, and be loved for himself. Simple, eye-catching art will appeal to young children