My Friend the Monster

My Friend the Monster was my first "chapter book" that I read with little assistance from my parents. It made a huge impact on me. Years later, I realized that this book was the first objective look at prejudice that I had. It made me want to befriend those who were different and helped me realize that if and when I'm the different one, I want people to befriend me. I highly recommend this book. The material sounds "too grown up" for kids but it isn't. It's on just the right level for them to understand and ask thoughtful questions that will enable them to grow. It could have been better edited for correct syntax.

From the title, you might not expect this to be one of the best chapter books ever written for young children, but it is. My oldest child is 17 and my youngest 6, so I have been reading aloud for many, many years, and this is one of my all time favorites. In simple, but beautifully poetic language, Clyde Robert Bulla tells a story of an "ordinary" prince, a disappointment to his cruel and snobbish family, who runs away and meets a "monster" who lives with his people in underground caves. Although the humans and the monsters fear and hate each other, the boys become friends, slowly learning to trust and even protect one another. It is a wonderful story, both exciting and psychologically rich, and it deals with overcoming prejudice in a way that makes sense even to children as young as five or six. But it's so good, so beautifully written, that I'd recommend it for children as old as nine or ten. Unfortunately, as I write this, the book is currently out of print, but any decent library ought to have it. And I hope the publishers come to their senses soon and make it widely available again. This is a book every child should get the opportunity to hear.