Paul Czajak’s 2013 picture book Monster Needs a Costume is ridiculous–and I mean that in the very best way.
Monster loves Halloween, and now that it is here, he needs a costume. The narrator asks what kind he’d like, and offers some suggestions (including “A giant Bartlett pear,” which should evoke how nicely silly this book is). Monster turns down these suggestions, and says he wants to be a cowboy. He dresses as one, and tries it for a week.
He loves it…until he sees the ballet. Then he dresses as a ballerina and dances until his feet are sore. (Monster ballet yields another set of silly images.)
He sees a ninja on TV, and changes to a ninja costume. Yes, think monster ninja…but his size makes ninja sneakiness hard to pull off.
In the end, he combines all three costumes, and trick or treats as a “Dancing Cowboy Ninja” monster.
All of this is delivered in rhyme (if not a stable rhythm) and illustrated in bright, accessible images by Wendy Grieb.
