The Monster at the End of This Blog

When I was a little kid, I was the biggest scaredy cat you’ve ever met. I was terrified of the idea of ghosts, and the mere mention of wicked witches or vampires was enough to send me running from the room. Even Disney villains frightened me; the first time I saw “The Little Mermaid,” I had to be carried out because I was so afraid of giant Ursula, the multi-tentacled sea-witch.

Yes, I was terrified of the monsters under the bed, but the only monster who didn’t frighten me was blue, loveable, furry old Grover from “Sesame Street.”

“The Monster at the End of This Book” by Michael Smollin has to be the children’s book that stands out the most in my memory. It was a classic Golden Book, and it was all about Grover protecting the reader from the monster hiding…you guessed it…at the end of the book. He did everything possible to prevent this dire fate, from “tying” the pages together with rope, nailing them together with boards and building a stone wall, all to no avail.

It helps that my dad was the undisputed King of Bedtime Stories; even though his many gigs as a musician meant he came home later in the evenings, there was always time for a bedtime story. My sister and I begged him to read this at least once a week; his Grover voice and willingness to let us “help” him turn the pages are two of my favorite childhood memories.

At the end of the book, Grover discovers that the monster at the end of the book is, in fact, himself. Loveable, furry old Grover taught me something extremely valuable in those few, short pages. The thing we’re often the most afraid of is never as bad as we imagine, and the things that most frighten us are the things that we’ve build up in our mind to be big, scary humbugs. If you never turn the pages, you will never have to face the monster, but if you don’t turn the pages, you never get anywhere. It’s only by turning the pages and facing our fears that we can follow our story, and in doing so, we can laugh at the things that frighten us, turning them into something small and not-so-scary.

Since it’s National Children’s Book Week, I urge you to pick up a copy of “The Monster at the End of This Book,” for the child in your life (yes, your inner child counts too) and to slip on your best Grover impression for just a couple of minutes. Yes, there is an iPhone app that will let you read the story on your digital device, but nothing beats struggling with roped-up pages as you confront the monster at the end of the book, and finding out that there really is nothing to be scared of.

How about it, Studio 602 readers? What classic will you be busting out for National Children’s Book Week? Am I alone in my love for “The Monster at the End of This Book?” Which children’s book changed your life and how? Sound off in the comments below!