This was a very cute read along or read aloud. Bright and colourful illustrations. Easy to read with lots happening on the page, and the rhyme works well to carry the story along. I also liked that there was a bit of seek and find with trying to spot the Santa Monster in each scene, although I was a bit confused at first (well second since I had to go back to do it after getting to the last page where they tell you he's in every scene) because I was kind of looking for him in his sled. And he's not in his sled in every photo. I think that this should have been introduced at the start and with just Santa so I wasn't trying to always find him in his sled. If you were looking for him with a small child, they would probably be confused because most seek and find books are to find the exact character and not the character hiding behind a newspaper or similar. Waldo looks like Waldo in every picture of the Where's Waldo books ....

All in all, though, a very cute and quick read. Good for bedtime and especially around Christmas when kids are getting excited.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the advanced readers copy (ARC) of Monsters at Christmas by Laura Baker. Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays, especially as a child, so I was happy to be approved to read this book. I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

Perfect for children that are toddlers, this book is perfect to help kids learn how to read with all the rhyming sentences. It's a bit reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss book. I like the fact that the book shows kids that monsters aren't always scary and can enjoy activities that others enjoy.

The illustrations were fantastic and fun to look at. At the end of the book, the author asks if we saw the "Christmas Monster" in each scene. I didn't even notice that this character appeared in all the scenes, so it was enjoyable to go back to find him. It was a little like a "Where's Waldo" book.

Five out of five stars is what I gave Monsters at Christmas by Laura Baker and illustrated by Nina Dzyvulska. If you're looking for a book to put you and your child in the mood for the Christmas holiday, then this is the perfect book for that.

**received in exchange for review. opinions my own**

Super cute! The illustrations are more than what I expected, and I love how the story rhymes. I'm not quite feeling the cover, with the lime green on red. Maybe it looks better on the physical book, but I wouldn't choose this book from a shelf for myself or the kids in my life without having read the story here first. The sensory input of the cover is too visually overwhelming.

With "Monsters at Christmas", there isn't much of a story, that's the main downside to it. However it's very busy, colourful and festive. I believe it would appeal to very young children who would appreciate the vivid images and have fun pointing at the myriad of monsters. Adults might want to make up a story of their own, or go the "Where's Waldo?" route with a monster twist.
It's entertaining on the visual front, but that's it, not much substance.

Things I love about this book are Colorful , Playful and all different sizes of Monster Illustrations in the book and being able to go back with your child or group of kids and look for Santa Monster on each page and engaging and stimulating of different characters and themes on each page

I didn’t enjoy that the writing felt repetitive with the rhyming scheme it felt a bit forced and was hard to read out loud for me and as a former teacher and librarian I would tell others to take their time reading this book and be prepared for it to be a lot of rhyming of similar sounds and words

I loved all the monsters. The big ones and the small ones, the cute ones and the scary ones made this book a good one. I will be reading this book in December around Christmas time to my nieces and nephews.