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June 9, 2022 by Travis Jonker

Read Aloud Hall of Fame #7: THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin

June 9, 2022 by Travis Jonker   1 comments

You need a book. A can’t miss book. A read aloud that will cast a wide net and pull everyone in. This is the idea behind The 100 Scope Notes Read Aloud Hall of Fame.

In each post I’ll share a read aloud that has never let me down. Some will be obvious and popular. Others lesser-known. All will be story time gold.

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Click here to see all the Read Aloud Hall of Fame inductees.

The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone, illustrated by Michael Smollin

Today we have a read aloud staple that is widely known and beloved: The Monster at the End of This Book. In the story, scaredy-cat Grover breaks the fourth wall and tries to convince the reader to stop turning pages before reaching the titular monster.

Grover tries all sorts of preventative tactics (like building a brick wall) to halt the reader, inviting kids to interact with the text to continue the fun. Originally published in 1971, this book was a metafiction pioneer, paving the way for stories like We Are in a Book and many others.

But the cherry on top? That comes after the big reveal, when Grover tries to tell the reader that they were afraid, but he wasn’t. A prefect conclusion to a book that I read every year with my Kindergarten students.

Extension Tip:

Finished reading the book? Head on over to PBS Kids, where you can play The Monster at the End of This Game.

Filed under: Read Aloud Hall of Fame

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The Monster at the End of This Book

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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Comments

  1. Katie Delia says

    June 9, 2022 at 7:42 pm

    My favorite book as a kid and my favorite book to read to my Kindergarten students now. I gave copies to my students at the end of the year as presents, and I did it today. The kids kept taking about “I’m going to read this to you on the bus” and “I can’t wait to have my mom read it to me when I get home!” Great pick!

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