Tamara Small and the Monster's Ball

Giles Paley-Phillip
On a windy night Tamara lies awake in bed, when she hears a noise outside her room. Suddenly she is whisked away by a hairy arm and taken to the village hall! Luckily it is just the monsters from her neighbourhood inviting her to their ball. She has fun dancing with all the monsters before being sent back home with a lovely slice of slime cake!
Touching on every childhood fear, Tamara Small can hear noises when she goes to bed one night and immediately fears the worst, except in this case, she’s right. The noises are from a monster and he’s come to take her away. But not to fear, it’s to the annual monsters ball of course!
Touching on every childhood fear, Tamara Small can hear noises when she goes to bed one night and immediately fears the worst, except in this case, she’s right. The noises are from a monster and he’s come to take her away. But not to fear, it’s to the annual monsters ball of course!
This is Giles Paley-Phillips, who wrote the brilliant, ‘A fearsome Beastie’s latest offering. In this book, the story once again starts off scarily but the monsters are friendly and just want to have a good time dancing the night away.
I enjoy reading Giles’ books because the poem always flows nicely. Even my husband, bless his heart, as reading aloud doesn’t come naturally, can read Giles’ books with ease. His rhymes are witty and engage children to the story.
Gabriele Antonini is also back with her unique illustrative style, managing to make the monsters not too scary but still full of quirky and captivating character.
Verdict: An enjoyable book that taps into a child’s ‘love to be scared’ relationship with monsters but won’t leave them with nightmares. Instead, they might be listening out for strange noises at night and hoping that they’re the next Tamara Drew!
Reviewed by Karen