Never Touch a Monster: Book Review

STORY-TIME!

Before I dive into my Never Touch a Monster book review, I want to give some background on how we discovered this book. I was at Barnes & Noble a couple weeks ago for their Saturday morning story-time and to pick up some gifts. Ava loves looking at all the books but today she was mostly interested in the train table in the kids section.

A little girl around seven or so took great interest in Ava and asked me if she could read yet (not yet, she just turned two! 😂) and if I read to her a lot, and what were her favorite books.

Then she showed ME her favorite books and recommended some for Ava. “She’ll love this, it has unicorns!” “This book is funny but it doesn’t have any pictures.”

Since she seemed like a knowledgeable and well-read child I asked for a recommendation for my little nephew’s first birthday party. She confidently led me to ‘Never Touch a Monster’ and said that he would love touching the monsters in the book. There was another book next to it called ‘Never Touch a Porcupine’ and I asked if he might prefer that one instead. She looked at me like I was crazy and said “no, get this one, it has MONSTERS in it!” Obviously monsters are better than porcupines, I’m ashamed to say I didn’t know.

Never Touch a MOnster Book REview

I ended up buying ‘Never Touch a Monster’ and gave it a test read to Ava that afternoon before wrapping it up for the party. She did in fact love touching the monsters in the book. There are bright illustrations and silly warnings not to touch the monsters, and great textures to feel. The silicone nubbles are unlike any other touch and feel book I’ve felt before. Even Rocky the Dog had to give it a sniff! If your child likes interactive or touch and feel books they’ll love this one.

So the moral of this story is that I need to go to Barnes & Noble more often and get book recommendations from the kids that hang out there! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?!

Also, side note, if you have a Barnes & Noble nearby, most stores have a Saturday morning story-time with themed activities afterwards. Ours has a pretty cool play area too with kid sized chairs and reading nooks and the beloved train table. It’s a great Saturday morning activity, especially if you need a break from the library.

There are several books in this series (Never Touch a Dragon, Never Touch a Porcupine, etc.) although I’m not sure I can in good conscience recommend the porcupine one, they are just not as cool as monsters!