Welcome to Storyline Online brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. I'm Nancy Cartwright and today I'm going to read to you: "How I Met My Monster" written by Amanda Knoll and illustrated by Howard McWilliam. One night, when I reached under the bed for my truck, I found this note instead “From the Office of Mr Zee: Monsters!
Meet here for final test. - Z” Ha! My parents were obviously trying to trick me into staying in bed.
I didn’t believe in monsters… . . .
So I crumpled the paper, grabbed my truck, and zipped over to my garage. I heard some creaking and rumbling, but I wasn’t scared. Our house always made noises at night.
But then a voice under the bed scolded, “Stop that stomach rumbling! The child will hear you. ” Voices?
Stomach rumbling? If this was part of my parents’ trick, it was pretty cool. I peered into the inky blackness.
Five pairs of eyes blinked back. “See? Now he knows we’re here,” the voice sighed.
“One of you has broken Monster Rule Number 1: Maintain the element of surprise. ” This is no trick. I thought.
There ARE monsters under my bed! A long-necked yellow monster slid out, followed by four little monsters. “Rule Number 2,” the yellow one instructed.
“Never block the bed. All of you - scoot over! ” Hey, I realized.
That one must be their teacher! I sat up straight, mesmerized by the monster parade shuffling across my bedroom. “That’s better,” The teacher-monster said.
“Access to the bed is clear. Now, who knows Rule Number 3? ” The purple monster teetered on his tiptoes and gurgled, “Get the child into bed!
” “That’s correct, Genghis. And how would you do that? ” “Well, Mr Zee, I would… roar my scariest roar!
” “Alright, give it a go! ” Genghis took a deep breath, opened his mouths, and let out a tiny burp! “Stomach rumbling would have a better chance of getting me into bed than that funny little noise,” I laughed.
“The child is right,” said Mr Zee, shaking his head. “That was not sufficiently scary. Genghis, I’m sorry.
You’re not the best monster for this child. ” There was some creaking as Genghis slunk beneath the bed. Before i could investigate where Genghis had gone, Mr Zee asked, “NOW who wants to try to get the child into bed?
” The orange monster looked at the ceiling and the red monster looked at the floor. Only the green one looked at me. First, he stared at my toes and started drooling.
Then he took a step toward me, and I heard that rumbling noise again. I sprang into bed so he couldn’t get my feet. Mr Zee blinked.
“Very unconventional, Gabe. Your stomach gurgles seem to be what this child needs. ” What I needed was to make sure this little Gabe-monster didn’t eat my toes!
“Right, you three. The child is now in bed,” said Mr Zee. “As every monster knows, the ultimate objective is Rule Number 4.
Who can tell me what that is? ” The orange monster bounced and squeaked, “Keep the child in bed until it falls asleep! ” “Correct, Morgan.
And how would you accomplish that? ” “Shadow puppets! Shadow puppets!
” She squeaked again. Gabe whistled through his nose and I snickered, but Mr Zee said, “Interesting idea. Try it.
” Morgan hopped onto my night table and flailed her arms near my lamp. Silly shadows blobbed onto the wall, and a cloud of fluffy fur tickled my nose. “AAAAACHOOOO!
” “Morgan, stop at once,” Mr Zee ordered. “You’re supposed to scare him - not make him sneeze! I’m sorry, but you’re not a match either.
” Morgan’s arms flopped to her sides and she scuttled under my bed. There was some more creaking, and Morgan was gone. After all that sneezing I really needed a tissue.
Suddenly, a huge shadow of uncut claws loomed across my room. Awesome! I thought.
And kind of scary. I froze in place. “Powerful performance, Gabe,” said Mr Zee, “but do either of you see a problem?
” “Ooh, I know! ” chirped the red monster. “The child is out of bed again!
” “Correct, Abigail,” Mr Zee continued, “and one of you must get him back in. Let’s revisit Rule Number 1: Maintain the element of surprise. ” All at once - POOF!
- the monsters vanished. Then I heard more rumbling. Were they hiding in my closet making noises to scare me?
Ha! No! It was only my stomach grumbling.
All this excitement was making me hungry! I tiptoed past the closet and peeked out the door. So far, so good.
No monsters. Then I stepped over the squeaky stair and sneaked down to the kitchen. As I reached into the pantry, I heard some chattering behind me.
I sure hoped it wasn’t that toe-loving Gabe. I yanked open the fridge. Ha!
It wasn’t Gabe! It was just the red monster, shivering on the shelf. “Found you!
” I laughed. “Nice try, Abigail,” said Mr Zee, “but this isn’t working. You’re not the right monster for this child.
” “But Mr Zee,” she whined, “it’s not my fault he’s not scared of me. ” “I’m sorry, Abigail. Let’s go.
” Abigail colmped behind Mr Zee. When I heard the creaking, I knew she was gone. I grabbed some crackers and headed upstairs, wondering if Gabe was gone too.
I munched all the way down the hall… . . .
then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth again. When i opened the door a minute later… . .
. Gabe was definitely NOT gone! He was right there - and he was HUGE!
I charged into my room and slammed the door. When i leaped into bed, I knew my toes were safe. Whew!
I was surprised to hear breathing under my bed. Ragged breathing. And stomach rumbling.
“Hey, kid,” Gabe growled. “Good to see ya. ” I pulled my covers up tight.
“Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to start the evening with an ominous puddle of drool. ” I peeked over the edge of the bed. Green ooze spread soundlessly from underneath.
Then the bed quivered as Gabe unfurled his spiked tail. “Well, this looks quite promising,” Mr Zee noted. When I heard ome more creaking, I knew Mr Zee was gone.
I was alone… with Gabe. Gabe loomed over my bed and began sharpening his uncut claws on my bedpost. “H-How’d you get so big?
” I gasped. “Rule Number 5, my friend,” he explained. “People food makes monsters grow.
So thanks for the crackers. Got any toes I can munch? ” I scrunched in my feet so Gabe couldn’t get them.
This was WAY better than playing with trucks. “No toes tonight, but you can have this,” I offered, tossing a stuffed monster off the bed. Gabe dove for it.
His soft, comforting snorts filled the room as he snuffled the toy. I shivered. “Kid, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
” “No other monster can scare me like you! ” I giggled. Gabe was the monster for me.
His snorts and ooze were perfect. I yawned, then shivered again. I was asleep in no time.
I'll tell you what II really love about this book. Amanda Noll really beautifully lays it out so a child can understand how he can not be afraid. It actually empowers him so that if something is upsetting him he doesn't have to let that bother him or get the best of him.
It's like these monsters that are under the bed they're all not so bad. And it puts him more in control of what's going on in that environment when he's trying to go to sleep at night. There's nothing that beats a good story that encourages and inspires a child's imagination.
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