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Laura Shovan
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Welcome to Monsterville Paperback – April 25, 2023

by Laura Shovan (Author), Michael Rothenberg (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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Welcome to Monsterville, where the residents are anything but ordinary. The monsters here are "friendly! thoughtful! shy and scary," much like their human neighbors. Readers will meet a monster house who plays hopscotch and makes the sidewalks quake, laugh at a bubblegum-headed monster's epic tantrum, and cry with a monster called Sadness.

This quirky collection of illustrated poems is a celebration of friendship, emotional intelligence, and creative play as a form of healing.

Previous page
  1. Reading age
    4 - 10 years
  2. Print length
    46 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Dimensions
    7 x 0.12 x 10 inches
  5. Publisher
    Loyola College/Apprentice House
  6. Publication date
    April 25, 2023
  7. ISBN-10
    1627204776
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1627204774
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Welcome to Monsterville is a delight. The poems are fun and the illustrations wondrous. This is the perfect volume to have and to read not only as an adult to all the children in your family. Once you start turning the pages, you can't help but crack a smile from ear to ear. The poet and the illustrator hit a nerve on every page. FANTASTIC." - Virgil Suarez, author of 90 Miles: Selected and The Painted Bunting's Last Molt

"A delightfully surprising collection of poetry and art that is sure to inspire its readers to pick up a pen and explore their own creativity." -Jarrett Lerner, author-illustrator of the EngiNerds series

"With perfect personification (monster houses that dance), colorful characters (Bubblegum Head), lively language (Dockaboodlecoo!), and a whole range of emotions from gratitude to shyness to anger to sadness, children will easily see themselves in the world of Monsterville. And they'll want to visit Monsterville again and again-to find joy, escape, and monsters who understand them. In this collection of welcoming poems, master poet Laura Shovan gives us a verbal hug with words of acceptance and appreciation that we all can use right now: 'You're a weary, silly, laughing, / weeping, wonderful creature.'" - Janet Wong, author of You Have to Write



About the Author

Laura Shovan is a children's author, educator, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Her chapbook Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone won the inaugural Harriss Poetry Prize. Her work regularly appears in journals and anthologies for children and adults. Laura's middle grade novel-in-verse, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, won multiple awards, including NCTE Notable Verse Novel. Her novel Takedown was selected for Junior Library Guild, PJ Our Way, and the ALA's Amelia Bloomer/Rise Feminist Books Project. A Place at the Table, written with author/activist Saadia Faruqi, is a Sydney Taylor Notable. Laura is a longtime poet-in-the-schools for the Maryland State Arts Council and serves on the faculty of VCFA's MFA program in Writing for Children and Young adults. www.laurashovan.com

Michael Rothenberg was a poet, editor, artist, and publisher of the online literary magazine BigBridge.org, co-founder of 100 thousand Poets for Change (www.100tpc.org), The "Read A Poem To A Child" Initiative, and co-founder of Poets In Need, a non-profit501(c), assisting poets in crisis. He published over 20 books of poetry, most recently The Pillars (Quaranzine Press) and Drawing the Shade (Dos Madres Press). His editorial work includes several volumes in the Penguin Poets series: Overtime by Philip Whalen, As Ever by Joanne Kyger, David's Copy by David Meltzer, and Way More West by Ed Dorn. He was also editor of The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen published by Wesleyan University Press. He was Florida State University Library's Poet in Residence. His most recent book of poetry, In Memory of A Banyan Tree, Poems of the Outside World, 1985-2020, (Lost Horse Press) published in 2022.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Loyola College/Apprentice House (April 25, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 46 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1627204776
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1627204774
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 - 10 years
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.12 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

About the author

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Laura Shovan

Laura Shovan

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Laura Shovan is a novelist, educator, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Her work appears in journals and anthologies for children and adults. Laura’s award-winning middle grade novels include The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Takedown, and the Sydney Taylor Notable A Place at the Table, written with Saadia Faruqi. An honors graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (BFA Dramatic Writing) and Montclair State University (Master of Arts, Teaching), Laura is a longtime Maryland State Arts Council Artist-in-Education, conducting school poetry residencies. She teaches for Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Her latest poetry collection for kids is Welcome to Monsterville (Apprentice House, 2023).

Laura's author website and blog are at www.laurashovan.com. Find her on Instagram @LauraShovan.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Meg Eden
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Launching Point for Creativity, SEL, and Empathy
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
The first time I saw an earlier draft of these poems, I tried to make sense of these strange monsters. My internal rules said monsters are bad…right? But as I’ve heard Laura Shovan talk about these monsters (especially in her A Novel Mind post) and the process of the illustration and poem collaboration, I’ve revisited the published version with a challenge to my perspective on Monsterville’s residents—and monsters as a whole.

Laura Shovan expands our thinking on what monsters are—allowing us to see that our emotions are kinds of monsters, that we all have monsters inside us, and those aren’t fully good or bad but messy, and worthy of attention, empathy and kindness. Michael Rothenberg’s illustrations are bizarre in the best way possible, opening up the imagination for interpretation and exploration.

Lines like “you’re a weary silly laughing weeping wonderful creature” and “I never knew you cared” surprised me and pulled me in to see the human in the monster. Some of my favorite poems included “Birthdays,” “Monster of Costavablink,” “Neighbor” and “Green Cave.”

Welcome to Monsterville is a great conversation starter with kids to talk about SEL and emotional awareness, as well as viewing others with complexity and empathy. It’s also a great launching point for kids to write their own poems. Shovan has some phenomenal classroom prompts and exercises related to the book on her site that sound fun, amazing and important to use with writers of all ages.
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Paulina
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book on so many levels. I found myself drawing monsters and writing poems and having fun.
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
Nothing to dislike. Great for children to discover their skills and put any scary feeling s in their place.
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katmaz
5.0 out of 5 stars Monsterville
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
Laura Shovan and Michael Rothenberg collaborated to produce a thoughtful, sometimes funny, clever book of children’s poetry. Some of the Monsters have their own words and language that are sure to entertain young ones. You can help but befriend these Monsters.
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Dhara Shah
4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely collection of poems about monsters
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2023
I received an ARc.

This book is a lovely collection of poems about monsters who have human-like qualities such as being shy, angry, happy, scary etc. They are neighbors to human kids.

The poems are short, sweet and have a nice rhyme scheme. All the poems were about labeling emotions. Great for kids who are learning how to explain their feelings in words.

I wondered why this book had these particular illustrations because they are not typical for children’s books. Then I read the author’s note and it makes perfect sense why these illustrations were used.

A very heartfelt and touching author’s note explaining the true meaning of how this book came about and why these illustrations were used. Loved that
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kiperoo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for all ages!
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2023
The combination of text and illustration really comes together in this unique collection. This book is great for both kids of all ages and their grownups--we can all recognize the monsters within and beside us. This would be an especially great addition to school and classroom libraries for kids and educators looking for outlets for all kinds of emotions.
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Kathleea
5.0 out of 5 stars Children’s Poems Even Adults Will Enjoy!
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2023
This is a book of poems about monsters. Some are silly, some are a little scary and some could be your friend. These poems should be read out loud for the child in your life to savor. Highly recommend!
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R. Toalson
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, profound, quirky...just what kids need
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2023
Quirky and eclectic--welcome to the monsters of Monsterville. This is a profound and delightful collection of poems that explores emotions and will leave children with a lasting acceptance for their own emotions--however monsterly they may be.
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Joanie Strulowitz
5.0 out of 5 stars When monsters come to visit...
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2023
A sweet tribute to the monsters that pop up inside children and adults.
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