Love Monster - Tapa dura

*A USA Today Bestseller!*
*A Publishers Weekly Bestseller!*

"You might have noticed that everyone loves kittens, and puppies and bunnies. You know, cute, fluffy things," remarks the chatty narrator of "Love Monster" (FSG, 32 pages, $16.99), a winning picture book by Rachel Bright. The world's affection for cuteness makes it tough for the funny-looking, "slightly hairy" title character who yearns for love and acceptance. Ms. Bright uses a style of printmaking that yields coarse black lines, which she has filled in with color to evoke the Love Monster's feelings of both despondency and hope as he searches the (frustratingly cute) world for a kindred spirit. With the Monster, as with many a lonely soul, love arrives when he least expects it in this ultimately happy excursion for 2- to 5-year-olds." --The Wall Street Journal

"...Bright has a brisk but sympathetic voice that's appealingly British, and her visual pacing is impeccable. Like the monster itself, this story wears its heart very visibly." --Publishers Weekly

"Scarily good!" --Kirkus Reviews

"Like the main characters in Mo Willems' Leonardo, the Terrible Monster (2005) and Tammi Sauer's Mostly Monsterly (2010), Monster's appearance doesn't match his sensitive disposition, and he yearns for someone to love him "just the way he is." Bright's rough-textured print technique-think degraded photocopy-suits our scruffy little hero to a T, while the bright, saturated color palette of reds and purples against pale and pretty backgrounds reflects his optimistic nature." --Booklist

"Sweet." --School Library Journal

Love Monster is a slightly hairy monster trying to fit in with the cuddly residents of Cutesville. But as it turns out, it's hard to fit in with the cute and the fluffy when you're a googly-eyed monster. And so, Love Monster sets out to find someone who will love him just the way he is. His journey is not easy—he looks high, low, and even middle-ish. But as he soon finds out, in the blink of a googly eye, love can find you when you least expect it.

Look out for Love Monster and the Perfect Present, coming in Fall 2014.