Comments on: Books like "The a Monster at the End of This Book"?

Question: Books like "The a Monster at the End of This Book"?

The corpse in the library — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:28:34 -0800

Can you recommend any children's books along the lines of The Monster at the End of This Book? I'm looking for funny books, for kids, where the characters know they're in books. (This is to entertain two goofy kids, ages five and two.)

By: Dave 9

Dave 9 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:42:02 -0800

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book

By: MonkeyToes

MonkeyToes — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:49:57 -0800

Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales." Very meta.

Also have a look at their delightful tale, "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs."

I also like David Wiesner's "The Three Pigs."

*Goes off to raid son's bookshelf...*

By: Gucky

Gucky — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:58:48 -0800

Open Me. I'm a dog. by Art Speigelman. Awesome book.
(I'd second The Stinky Cheese Man as well.)

By: jammy

jammy — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:03:15 -0800

seconding David Wiesner's Three Little Pigs - brilliant piece of work

By: Flannery Culp

Flannery Culp — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:00:22 -0800

My five-year-old loves An Undone Fairy Tale.

By: Lucinda

Lucinda — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:08:41 -0800

Would You Like to Play Hide and Seek in this Book with Lovable, Furry Old Grover? (Please Say Yes!)

By: Cricket

Cricket — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:06:32 -0800

You might like Read All About It, in which the characters aren't aware they're in a story, but characters from the books the teacher is reading visit the classroom. TVTropes lists both TMatEotB and The Stinky Cheese Man but no other picture books (The Neverending Story might be good when they're a little older). A couple of Scieszka's other books (The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf, The Frog Prince Continued) may be close to what you're looking for--the Wolf, at least, is supposed to be writing his story to set the story straight because of the horrid libel in all those other books about him and those rotten pigs, and if you find they like silly fairy tale subversions, then Waking Beauty and Falling for Rapunzel are both a lot of fun, though they still lack the fourth-wall-breakage.

By: mcbeth

mcbeth — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:22:09 -0800

nthingr Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fractured Fairytales.

Bought it when my son was seven or eight; when he moved out this summer at age 18 he handed it over and let me keep it. Good boy.

By: coevals

coevals — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:29:29 -0800

Allan Ahlberg's The Jolly Postman is full of letters from storybook characters that you can take out of the book and read.

By: BundleOfHers

BundleOfHers — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:41:35 -0800

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is pretty great. Immediately reminded me of the Grover-Monster book.

By: cider

cider — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:53:34 -0800

Definitely Do Not Open this Book -- very cute, and very similar. Also seconding the Pigeon books by Mo Willems.