Phaidon recently sent us through a review copy of their new board book, Small Monster Big Monster, A Seriously Silly Book of Opposites, by Brighton-based illustrator Allan Sanders. Even before I'd got beyond the front cover, I was captivated by the exciting, detailed drawings and the bright, flashy, almost fluorescent colours. There may only be a few words to read on each page but storytime will take a while as kids will be pointing out all sorts of things that they've spotted in the pictures.
On this page for example, the monster-version of the Statue of Liberty and the New York style ferry and skyscrapers could open up a discussion on American landscapes and things to visit and explore on holidays around the world, just to start you off. Giggling young readers may also wonder why the monster, presumably fresh out of the shower with a clean towel around his waist and a hairdryer shaping his funky hairstyle, still has flippers on from swimming in the Hudson River !
The book introduces a series of opposite words, such as loud-quiet, on-off, wet-dry, inside-outside and many more. The twenty chunky pages will withstand a lot of rough-and-tumble as little hands try to turn the pages and could even cope with being chewed on, as it is targetted at readers aged 0-3 years old !
It's an enjoyable, entertaining and educational book that will appeal to children and their parents, offering multiple opportunities to share stories and describe pictures. It's exactly the kind of book that I remember reading with the Madhouse kids when they were little and bouncing up and down in their cots while we were supposed to be getting ready to sleep with a supposedly calming but generally raucous read !
- Publisher : Phaidon Press
- Publication date : 13 Aug. 2026
- Edition : 1st
- Language : English
- Print length : 20 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1837292116
- ISBN-13 : 978-1837292110
- Item weight : 363 g
- Reading age : Baby - 3 years
- Dimensions : 17.91 x 2.22 x 17.78 cm
Disclosure : We received a copy of the book in order to share our honest opinion.
