Jeremy Draws a Monster (Jeremy and the Monster)

by Peter McCarty

Hardcover, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

534

Series

Jeremy & the Monster (1)

Collections

Children's Books, Flint/ Genesee

Publication

Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (2009), Edition: First, 40 pages

Description

A young boy who spends most of his time alone in his bedroom makes new friends after the monster in his drawing becomes a monstrous nuisance.

Media reviews

School Library Journal

K-Gr 1 -- In the tradition of Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon... McCarty delivers a character who draws objects to life. This story, however, has a modern touch and an interesting psychological twist. ... McCarty matches his understated story with both black-and-white and color

illustrations that flow loosely across ample white space; the openness of the images gives just the right feel to the tale. The monster is not particularly scary, and the balance of power, which comes not from might but from Jeremy's ingenuity, is the book's strength. Both story and illustration leave lots of room for speculation and discussion; children will love to pore over the endpapers, as well.

Show Less

— 3 more

Booklist

Be careful what you wish for, or in this case, draw. ... Jeremy... takes his fancy pen and draws a monster. ... The finely rendered pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations skillfully delineate characters and objects.... A top-notch Harold and the Purple Crayon for a new generation.

Kirkus Reviews

[Starred Review] With simplicity and quiet depth, a boy creates a challenge and meets it. ... Jeremy (with a pen, Harold-like) draws a blue monster with a self-entitled personality. ... Seeing the monster off onto an out-of-town bus leaves Jeremy next to a group of watercolor children with varying

pen-lined hair. They invite him to play and he accepts—monster gone, loneliness banished. Neat and unassuming. (Picture book. 3-6)

Show Less

Publishers Weekly

Where Harold used his purple crayon to get out of scrapes, Jeremy's blue pen causes him problems after he designs a cantankerous, linebacker-sized monster who demands a long list of items.... The monster is obnoxious, but it's also a catalyst: after it leaves, Jeremy quits his seclusion and plays

with other kids. Jeremy's creation has attitude to spare and although it's annoying, readers may lament its hasty departure. Ages 3–6.

Show Less

User reviews

LibraryThing member delatte

Here is an example of an excellent author/illustrator. McCarty reinvents one of my childhood favorites, Harold & the Purple Crayon, and provides an ending that's not overly schmaltzy, but makes the point that loneliness can be relieved through heallthy friendships.

8 more

LibraryThing member cnolasco

In "Jeremy Draws a Monster", Jeremy is a lonely little boy who never goes outside to play with the other kids. One day he draws a monster who comes to life and is very mean and demanding. He is not the friend Jeremy was hoping for. To get rid of the monster, Jeremy draws him a one-way bus pass and

takes him to the bus station. On his way home, the neighborhood kids ask if Jeremy wants to play ball.
For the illustrations, McCarty uses black and white and color. Spacially, the images are sparse. For instance, instead of drawing Jeremy's entire room, only the door, a stool, and a small dresser are drawn. To show night, a big shaded box of blue is drawn over the pictures. The illustrations in the book are fun, whimsical, and childlike to mirror Jeremy's own drawings.

Show Less

LibraryThing member allawishus

In this title, Jeremy, a lonely little boy, draws a monster for companionship. The monster takes on a life of his own and starts demanding things - food, a hat, a bed, excitement, etc. Jeremy becomes annoyed and finally draws the monster a one-way bus ticket out of town.

I thought the story was

mildly cute, but the illustrations were pretty adorable. As befitting the book's concept, the monster appears very sketched-in with doodles all over. In fact the monster appears so adorable that his mean and bossy personality is kind of a turn off! I wish the monster and Jeremy could have been friends. Alas, it was not to be. The author seems to be trying to make a point that real friendships (after the monster leaves, Jeremy goes outside and makes friends with the neighborhood kids) trump imaginary ones. That's probably true, but sometimes a lonely little kid just needs a friendly monster, not a grumpy one...

Show Less

LibraryThing member tas026

This picture book brings its pictures come to life. When a boy named Jeremy does nothing, but drawings in his room he decides to draw a monster that later becomes real and goes on drawing different things for this monster.

LibraryThing member ebmcc

Great for first readers to read to adults. Super read-aloud. Lots of white space with colored pencil looking drawings.

LibraryThing member JohannaJ

This book is short and sweet. The art is the most interesting part of the story. There isn't really a lesson to be learned. Except maybe that monsters can be jerks.

LibraryThing member bekeelen

Jeremy never leaves his room. He never goes outside. So he draws a monster who is demanding and mean and even kickd him out of this own bed. So he draws the monster a one way bus ticket and walks him out to the bus and puts him on it while outside soe kids ask him to play and he does.

LibraryThing member abreck2

In my opinion, Jeremy Draws a Monster is a good book, but the message of the book is too simple and not clear enough. I feel that the message of the book is to be careful what you wish for or hope for, because sometimes it can be too much for you to handle. I also think that the message of the book

is that not everything is what we expect it is going to be, and that life is full of surprises. Another central message of this book could be that imagination is very powerful. I don’t feel that message of the book was clear enough and supported enough through the story, which is why I don’t have a strong sense or idea of what the central message is. One thing that I liked about this book, is its emphasis on imagination. Although the book does not come right out to say that imagination is powerful, the reader can infer this by reading about how Jeremy’s drawings came to life. For instance, Jeremy drew a monster that ended up coming to life. Also, Jeremy drew the monster a hot dog and hat which ended up becoming real and not just a part of his imagination/drawing. I also like the idea of the story in the sense that Jeremy, the main character draws a monster that comes to life. I think that the author did a great job of personifying the monster and making the story magical. I feel that the story jumps around too much, however; which became confusing to me as a reader. For example, on one page the monster says, “Draw me a toaster…I like toast…Draw me a record player…It’s too quiet around here...Draw me a checkerboard…” I feel that this dialogue does not flow well enough. It is very jumbled up and goes off on tangents; it does not connect very well to the previous and next page of the book. Another aspect of the story that I think make the central message of the story hard to understand was the meaning. The story ends with Jeremy drawing a ticket for the monster to catch a train, the monster leaving, and Jeremy just going to play kickball with his friends. This type of ending in a story does force the reader to think about what happens next or what actually happened to the monster after he left, but it also can lead to a confusing ending that does not tie in with the rest of the story or emphasize the central message.

Show Less

LibraryThing member kradish

Jeremy is too shy to play with the other kids in the neighborhood. He draws himself a companion who turns out to be a big problem. Finally, Jeremy finds a solution to his problem, and the courage to go make friends. Relates to "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and others such books.

Fewer