Welcome to Monsterville

Written by Laura Shovan
Illustrated by Michael Rothenberg

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.

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Praise for Welcome to Monsterville

“Inventive personification, crackerjack wordplay, and imaginative art that makes the abstract visible… This book is an appealing reminder that poetry has the power to reveal as well as heal.” – Jama’s Alphabet Soup

"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