14 Children’s Picture Books About Monsters (From Sweet to Spooky)

Some kids are afraid of monsters and need help getting past their fears, while some kids dig them and want monster antics! No matter your preference, I bet you’ll find an excellent book in this roundup of our all-family all-time faves.

If you dig it, you may also want to check out my post about spooky children’s picture books. “Monsters” and “spooky” used to be one post here until it got too crowded because we loved too many books! (Disclosure: Amazon links are affiliate links.)

My picture book posts were published and then occasionally expanded between 2012-2015, with reviews based on reading with my kiddo between preschool age and about eight years old. As of 2023-24, I’m freshening up my lists and adding more recs.

The Kind-Hearted Monster (1973) by Max Velthuijs

A third of the way into the first story, I started to smile, and I never stopped. This is a lovely, quietly fun fire-breathing monster book with just enough whimsy and happy endings. The art doesn’t look sophisticated on first glance, but the people are little and cute and totally funny. Mervyn the monster is a gorgeous, happy fellow who wouldn’t hurt a fly. If you know a kiddo who would appreciate a friendly monster, this one’s for them!

The Serpent Came to Gloucester (2005) by M. T. Anderson, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

This is such a cool book! Written in verse, it retells reports from a Massachusetts village in 1817 that a sea serpent had appeared in the waves off their coast. The paintings are spot-on for the time period, and the text just rolls out beautifully when you read it aloud. There is a possibly upsetting sequence where men come from outside the village to hunt and kill the serpent, but the serpent is too clever for that, and all ends well. Nice change of pace for monster-interested kids compared to the usual more cartoony books.

The Monsters’ Monster (2012) by Patrick McDonnell

Three little monsters can never stop quarreling about who’s the meanest monster, so they decide to build the meanest monster of all! It doesn’t quite turn out the way they planned. Fans of baked goods will nod their heads in understanding at the calm, pleasant resolution.

The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot (2013) by Scott Magoon

An unseen narrator introduces us to Ben, a “tenacious little fellow” who is entirely unsuccessful in convincing his town that he’s seen Bigfoot. Which of course he hasn’t. (That might be the problem.) His efforts leave him alone at the edge of the woods as the sun’s going down… with a new admirer. Magoon has reinvented the classic warning against lying in a totally satisfying way. The narrator’s amused voice is just perfect. I also loved watching the changes in coloring of the woodland scene as they day got later and later. Very pretty.

Julia’s House for Lost Creatures (2014) by Ben Hatke

We were thrilled when we found out Hatke was doing a picture book, since we adore his Zita the Spacegirl graphic novel series. We were not disappointed! Julia lives in a house on the back of a tortoise. It’s full of wonderful things, including her workshop, but very lonely. But when she opens her home to all sorts of lost creatures, she gets a little more chaos than she bargained for! This book has two of the features which made Zita so enjoyable for me: Hatke’s intriguing character designs, and his attention to sound words. Fans of robots will get a special treat at the end, too.

Monster Chefs (2014) by Brian and Liam Anderson. (Brian is the dad and Liam is the kid, so that’s fun to discuss with the kid in your life!)

What do you do when the most horriblest horrible monster of all, the king of all monsters, wants you to cook him something new? Venture out into the world for culinary inspiration. Hope that works out for you, or you’ll be eaten! I like it because of what’s on the conveyer belt at the end (tasty!), and that the only human character is a woman of color. We re-read it when my kiddo was nine years old and he was still very interested.

Monster Trouble! (2015) by Lane Fredrickson, illustrated by Michael Robertson

Winifred Schnitzel is a smart, brave, resourceful young girl who wouldn’t mind the monster infestation in her room if they would just let her GET SOME SLEEP. After all, nodding off in your ballet class (or into your breakfast) is not great. But when research and trap construction fail, Winifred must find another strategy for chasing away the sleep-depriving creatures. And she does, with an ending that will amuse kids to no end. Fredrickson makes this rhyming text work perfectly, and Robertson is equally adept at drawing little girls and monsters. Win!

Peanut Butter and Brains: A Zombie Culinary Tale (2015) by Joe McGee, illustrated by Charles Santoso

If you’re turned off by zombie gore, this is the zombie book for you. The undead in Quirkville have a few scrapes, and their skin’s a little grey (or blue), but they’re pretty tidy. One of them even wears a beret. However they do still have that pesky brain-eating behavior, so Quirkville residents stay well out of their way. (Santoso’s zombies are so cute, I’m surprised there isn’t an order form in the back for zombie dolls. They could probably just take my money.)

Reginald’s a little different. He prefers peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But since zombies don’t have money (only pockets full of bugs), he’s forced into a life of crime. Little Abigail Zink, the smartest girl in town, shouldn’t have dropped her lunch bag. Or is this an opportunity to help integrate the zombies into Quirkville’s law-abiding community?

I Will Fight Monsters for You (2015) by Santi Balmes, illustrated by Lyona

Martina is scared of the dark. She’s convinced there’s a parallel monster world under the floor, and the monsters are just waiting for one small slip-up before she’ll be taken away. Her father reassures her that he’ll fight monsters for her, but asks for her help being as brave as possible, since monsters shrink when exposed to bravery. That is reassuring! Then in her dreams, Martina discovers that monsters are possibly not so scary after all. This is a quiet, sweet bedtime book that grapples with children’s fears without minimizing them. The book’s ultimate conclusion, that unfamiliarity can be the root of fear, is delivered in a concrete, satisfying way. There’s a good lesson here, but it doesn’t overwhelm the magical storytelling. Boy Detective never struggled with bedtime fears, but he was rooting for Martina and really enjoyed watching her find peace and friendship.

Marilyn’s Monster (2015) by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Matt Phelan

One of the sweetest monster books EVER. Michelle Knudsen is becoming one of my favorite children’s book authors. In this soft book, schoolgirl Marilyn gets tired of waiting for her monster to find her. Everyone in her class has theirs already. So she goes to find it herself, even though that’s not how things are “supposed” to work. I love Marilyn’s quiet determination. I love her kindness to her monster once she finds it. And I super-love how expressive all the faces are in this book. Phelan knows his stuff! Plus, how fun would it be if everybody had their own monster?

And here are the books I’ve read on my own since my kiddo got too old for them; they’re all fantastic! I haven’t had a chance to write reviews or pull the covers yet, but click on through and see if one of them might be perfect for you.

And that’s the list!