Isol, translated by Elisa Amado,
Petit, the Monster
Groundwood Books, 2010.

Ages 4-7

A picture book originally published in Argentina explores the contradictory behaviors and feelings that almost all children struggle to make sense of. Petit is a young boy who can be very nice, but not all the time. He’s good when he plays with his dog, but not when he pulls girls’ hair. He’s bad when he tells a lie, but he’s good at telling stories. He takes care of his toys—a good thing—but he doesn’t want to share them—is that so bad? He doesn’t like Gregory at all, but the other day he felt sorry for him. It’s all so confusing! When he realizes his mother, too, has more than one side to her nature (“Mother is good because she understands and bad when she sends me to bed without dessert.”) Petit wonders, “Could it be that it runs in the family?” Author/illustrator Isol deftly use of humor to explore essential questions of childhood in picture book featuring lighthearted line drawings with a striking, two-tone color scheme.

Megan Schliesman
June 2010