Jeremy Draws a Monster

Jeremy draws a monster into being (a la Harold and the Purple Crayon) and then must answer its demands until he figures out a way to send him packing. Though the real joy of this book is the monster's personality ("Draw me a hat. I'm going out!") it's also a story about Jeremy overcoming his shyness.

I loved it! The art is perfect (esp. the monster's big red hat).

In this title, Jeremy, a lonely little boy, draws a monster for companionship. The monster takes on a life of his own and starts demanding things - food, a hat, a bed, excitement, etc. Jeremy becomes annoyed and finally draws the monster a one-way bus ticket out of town.

I thought the story was mildly cute, but the illustrations were pretty adorable. As befitting the book's concept, the monster appears very sketched-in with doodles all over. In fact the monster appears so adorable that his mean and bossy personality is kind of a turn off! I wish the monster and Jeremy could have been friends. Alas, it was not to be. The author seems to be trying to make a point that real friendships (after the monster leaves, Jeremy goes outside and show more makes friends with the neighborhood kids) trump imaginary ones. That's probably true, but sometimes a lonely little kid just needs a friendly monster, not a grumpy one... show less

Here is an example of an excellent author/illustrator. McCarty reinvents one of my childhood favorites, Harold & the Purple Crayon, and provides an ending that's not overly schmaltzy, but makes the point that loneliness can be relieved through heallthy friendships.

In my opinion, Jeremy Draws a Monster is a good book, but the message of the book is too simple and not clear enough. I feel that the message of the book is to be careful what you wish for or hope for, because sometimes it can be too much for you to handle. I also think that the message of the book is that not everything is what we expect it is going to be, and that life is full of surprises. Another central message of this book could be that imagination is very powerful. I don’t feel that message of the book was clear enough and supported enough through the story, which is why I don’t have a strong sense or idea of what the central message is. One thing that I liked about this book, is its emphasis on imagination. Although the book show more does not come right out to say that imagination is powerful, the reader can infer this by reading about how Jeremy’s drawings came to life. For instance, Jeremy drew a monster that ended up coming to life. Also, Jeremy drew the monster a hot dog and hat which ended up becoming real and not just a part of his imagination/drawing. I also like the idea of the story in the sense that Jeremy, the main character draws a monster that comes to life. I think that the author did a great job of personifying the monster and making the story magical. I feel that the story jumps around too much, however; which became confusing to me as a reader. For example, on one page the monster says, “Draw me a toaster…I like toast…Draw me a record player…It’s too quiet around here...Draw me a checkerboard…” I feel that this dialogue does not flow well enough. It is very jumbled up and goes off on tangents; it does not connect very well to the previous and next page of the book. Another aspect of the story that I think make the central message of the story hard to understand was the meaning. The story ends with Jeremy drawing a ticket for the monster to catch a train, the monster leaving, and Jeremy just going to play kickball with his friends. This type of ending in a story does force the reader to think about what happens next or what actually happened to the monster after he left, but it also can lead to a confusing ending that does not tie in with the rest of the story or emphasize the central message. show less

In this story, Jeremy - a rather lonely homebody - draws a monster (as the title would suggest). However, this monster takes over Jeremy's life. He is very demanding and gives no thanks for the things Jeremy does for him. In the end, Jeremy draw the monster a bus ticket and sends him on his way. As he is sending the monster off, Jeremy is asked to play with some other children outside, an offer that he accepts. So while the monster was a nuisance to Jeremy, in the end, it got him to break his homebody ways. I've read a few other McCarty books, and he has a very distinct writing style, particularly in the way he ends his stories. They're often very abrupt endings that come and go with very little context or explanation. I thought that show more this book is alright, but I cannot think of any practical uses in the classroom, as there isn't a real moral to the story, and it's not the most engaging. Along with that, I think it's an okay example of a fantasy, but I think it really lacks in believability. The monster just sort of appears, so there's no real set up or context for it existing in the human world.
Media: ink and watercolor on watercolor paper show less

In "Jeremy Draws a Monster", Jeremy is a lonely little boy who never goes outside to play with the other kids. One day he draws a monster who comes to life and is very mean and demanding. He is not the friend Jeremy was hoping for. To get rid of the monster, Jeremy draws him a one-way bus pass and takes him to the bus station. On his way home, the neighborhood kids ask if Jeremy wants to play ball.
For the illustrations, McCarty uses black and white and color. Spacially, the images are sparse. For instance, instead of drawing Jeremy's entire room, only the door, a stool, and a small dresser are drawn. To show night, a big shaded box of blue is drawn over the pictures. The illustrations in the book are fun, whimsical, and childlike to show more mirror Jeremy's own drawings. show less

Summary: This book is about a boy who never leaves his room and decides to draw a monster to be his friend. The monster turns out to be selfish and demands the boy to draw him lots of things. This does not sit well with the boy and he draws the monster a one-way train ticket to leave him alone.
Critique: This book was a cute easy read. I would suggest it for new readers. The illustrations were very detailed also.