Toddlers and preschoolers love friendly monsters, so a storytime on these imaginary beings can help a child process nighttime fears. Make a paperbag puppet based on Emberley’s Go Away, Big Green Monster! Or, try one of these other activities.
Armstrong-Ellis, Carey. TEN CREEPY MONSTERS. The rhyming text counts backwards from ten, describing various monsters.
Attebery, Kevan. BUNNIES!!! A big blue monster sees some bunnies and is delighted by their cuteness.
Baruzzi, Agnese. DINING WITH…MONSTERS! A DISGUSTING WAY TO COUNT TO TEN. With lift-the-flaps, monsters eat things like one spider, two frogs, and more.
Emberly, Ed. GO AWAY, BIG GREEN MONSTER! With die cut holes, this storytime classic can help children cope with fear by calling out the repeated title phrase.
John, Jory. I WILL CHOMP YOU! Storytime listeners will call out the repeated title phrase as the monster tries to protect his cakes.
Ketteman, Helen. GO TO SCHOOL, LITTLE MONSTER. Little Monster goes to school for the first time where he meets his teacher, Mr. Drool.
Knapman, Timothy. A MONSTER MOVED IN! On a rainy day, Ben makes a fort and soon a monster moves into it and becomes Ben’s friend.
Manceau, Edouard. TICKLE MONSTER. The reader is encouraged to tickle various parts of the monster, such as his horns, arms, etc. to make these parts fall off.
McCarty, Peter. JEREMY DRAWS A MONSTER. Jeremy’s drawing of a monster comes to life and becomes a nuisance.
Rubin, Adam. BIG BAD BUBBLE. The monsters are terrified of bubbles but learn to cope with the situation in this hilarious tale.
Sendak, Maurice. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. Even after 50 years, this classic still delights storytime listeners, who help create a “wild rumpus.”
Also see the previous Monsters storytime ideas pages from August 2003.