The monster at the end of this book

I recently found a re-issue of a Little Golden Book that was a big favorite in our house: [I]The monster at the end of this book[/I] starring, of course, the lovable Grover (from Sesame Street).

The book is all about Grover trying to prevent the reader from advancing to the end of the book, because there's a monster there - and he's afraid of monsters. The antics (tying the pages together, building a brick wall) are amusing; the text begs to be yelled ("YOU TURNED THE PAGE!"); and most kids won't see the ending coming (Hint: there was a monster at the beginning of the book too, you just didn't notice).

The Monster at the End of this Book was one of the first books I could read on my own, and the text is predictable enough that most kids can quickly master it.

The humor does seem pretty universal (for the under 7 set anyway). Last week, I read it for the first time for my nephew, who'll be 6 in May. Since then, we've read it, oh, about 72 times-- me doing all the longer words, him doing all of the screaming parts and both of us giggling. Also, one of the boys I tutor, who has a lot of difficulties with reading, begs to be able to read this book. It's often the reward he wants for finishing up his classroom assignments.

So, if you've got a reluctant reader, I highly recommend it.