It’s October . . . and our family loves Halloween! We aren’t fond of haunted houses, creepy skeletons, and dark objects lurking in the corner – no way! We love to decorate, dress up, and make everything fun and whimsical . . . spooky but kooky!

Monsters, the cute and cuddly kind, are a great way to get into the fun Halloween spirit. I Need My Monster is a very funny book your kids will love! The illustrations are breathtaking and the plot is both lighthearted and meaningful. We also recently discovered MoshiMonsters.com. It’s a free website in which your child gets to customize their own monster and then decorate their house with items they “buy” from the monster village. Similar to webkinz.com and buildabearville.com, kids explore a fanciful virtual world and full of games and challenges. The games are educational and great practice, the website is intuitive and easy to use, and the experience is a lot of fun!

The Book

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I Need My Monster

Author: Amanda Noll

Illustrator: Howard McWillaim

Recommended Age: 4-8 years old

Book Brief: When Ethan checks under his bed for his monster, he finds a note instead: “Gone fishing. Back in a week. -Gabe” What will Ethan do? He needs a monster under his bed. Substitute monsters appear but none are as perfect as Gabe. Herbert’s teeth aren’t sharp enough, Mack’s slobbering induces giggles, Cynthia’s tail isn’t scary at all, and Ralph has nail polish on his claws! This will never work! How will Ethan get to sleep without his monster?

I Need My Monster is a unique monster-under-the-bed story for all monster-loving kids. The perfect balance of giggles and shivers will keep you under your covers, and you’ll soon be sleeping soundly.

About the Author: Amanda Noll blames her fundamentally twisted sense of humor on either genetics or the steady stream of Australian humor on which she was raised. She lives in Spanaway, Washington, and the monster under her bed is Gertie. This is her first picture book.

About the Illustrator: Howard McWilliam has won awards for his artwork and is published in a wide range of UK magazines and newspapers including The Daily Telegraph, The Week, Child Education, and Nursery Education. He lives in Kingston Upon Thames, England, and the monster under his bed is Brompton. This is his first picture book.

The Blast

MoshiMonsters.com

Cost: Free (optional membership upgrade)

Information:www.moshimonsters.com/parents

It’s a blast! Moshi Monsters is a free online game for kids, in which they adopt a monster and look after it. Kids whose parents give their approval can become members on the site, and can adopt a Moshi Monster. Kids care for their monster by solving puzzle games, which earn their monster virtual rewards called Rox. Kids can spend Rox on virtual items like food, furniture and other treats and toys for their monster. Over time their monster will increase in level, be able to visit new locations in Monstro City, and earn all kinds of in-game rewards for playing. Monster owners will also be able to make friends with other owners and leave messages on their pages.

Education is right at the heart of the Moshi Monsters experience. Every day your child’s monster will create a series of fun puzzles that test everything from vocabulary and arithmetic to logic and spatial skills. The better your child does at these puzzles, the more Rox they’ll earn to buy cool things for their monster. The difficulty level of the puzzles automatically calibrates each day, so puzzles get harder if they are doing well, and easier if they are struggling.

Successfully nurturing a Moshi Monster is no mean feat. It takes a variety of skills that your child can develop over time. Your child will need to think creatively, hypothesize, strategize, manage scarce resources, collaborate with friends, and nurture a wide variety of other skills that could extend positively into their everyday lives.

Extra tips for a good time!

• Sign up with your children. It’s fun to let them make the decision about their monsters appearance and name, but you’ll need to provide your email address and give permission for them to enter the site, so its easiest to help them through the registration process.
• The games or puzzles get progressively harder as you do better and increase in Level. They can be challenging and a lot of fun! It would not be unusual to find this adult playing a few games to “help earn a few monster dollars.”