The Monster Trap

by Dean Morrissey, Dean Morrissey

When things go bump in the night, there's only one thing to do! Paddy's excited to spend a few days with his grandfather. But Pop's house is a lot darker than Paddy remembers, and a lot spookier, too. When strange noises keep Paddy awake, Pop knows just what he must do -- set a monster trap and catch the culprits!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Halloween, Monsters, Animals, Fantasy, Adventure

Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[Kaitlyn Kluesner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute book about a grandson who stayed overnight at his grandfathers. As the grandson is trying to sleep, he thinks he hears sounds that must be monsters. The grandfather decides that they need to build a monster trap. This would be a great book for in a classroom because many students have a relationship with their grandparents so they will be able to relate to this story.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paddy spends some time with his grandfather Pop. When bedtime arrives Paddy tells Pop, that he thinks he hears a monster. Pop and Paddy is determined to catch this monster, so they build a trap to catch the monster. But the first trap built doesn't work, so they build a bigger and better trap, and what the trap catches amazes both Paddy and Pop.

[Ardyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spooky! But ends up fine. :) Illustrations are ornate, something new to notice each time through.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story! Good anchor text for narrative writing about monsters.

[EasyReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too scary!

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Monster Trap is an adorable book that deserves to be read by more kids. The artwork is so cute and the 'monsters' positively sweet; just the sort of thing that might convince a small child that they want to meet 'monsters' instead of avoiding them.

The story when a young boy named Paddy visits his Grandfather, who lives over a shop which looks like an antique store. Together they listen to a radio show called "Monster Radio Theater". This gets Paddy's imagination working overtime and in response to his fears, his grandfather creates a trap. When the first trap fails, he builds another. And low and behold -- and much to Grandfather's surprise -- they catch some monsters. Well... not exactly catch. For you see, the contraption they built is more like a monster playground.


This book is a Good Read-aloud, and just the thing to take the edge off of nighttime fear. Do check it out.

a Pam T mini review
(booksforkids-reviews.com)

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Monster Trap is about a boy named Paddy who goes over to his grandfathers house for a sleepover. His grandfather lives above a shop with antique features and filled with dark spooky moments. Strange noises in the middle of the night incise Paddy and his grandfather to build a monster trap. Paddy and his grandfather work over a few nights to catch the monster. Both Paddy and his grandfather are utterly surprised to discover what the trap has captured. This story grabs the readers attention and takes them on a thrilling adventure. As an oil painter myself, I fell in love with the illustrations which immediately captivated my imagination.

[Chanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Monster Trap is about a boy and his grandfather working together to catch monsters invading their house. When the boy is frightened in his sleep his grandfather decides to create a machine to catch all of the monsters. It didn't work the first time. He then built the ultimate machine that the monsters ended up enjoying as their playground. It turns out that the monsters aren't scary at all. This book could be used to get students to creatively think about what they could invent to help better a situation.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little scary if you ask me. A small boy is afraid to go to sleep because he thinks monsters will come. His grandpa and him set traps to catch the monsters and everynight the monsters come, take the bait and escape before they can be caught... until they build the biggest and best monster trap of all in the farmhouse. That night they heard noises and discovered the place swarming with little fury monsters. They don't actually look scary, but the fact that they are called monsters and it shows them as real might be unsettling for some kids, especially younger ones.

[Alexandria Hiam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little scary if you ask me. A small boy is afraid to go to sleep because he thinks monsters will come. His grandpa and him set traps to catch the monsters and everynight the monsters come, take the bait and escape before they can be caught... until they build the biggest and best monster trap of all in the farmhouse. That night they heard noises and discovered the place swarming with little fury monsters. They don't actually look scary, but the fact that they are called monsters and it shows them as real might be unsettling for some kids, especially younger ones.

[Shannon Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my son who is 3 and thoroughly enjoyed it. He and I pointed out illustrations and spent extra time describing the pictures on the pages after I finished reading each page. He was so engrossed and excited that when pop and paddy would check for the monsters, my son was covering his eyes. In addition, my 8 year old daughter has also experienced her own joy reading this book on her own. A fun book for everyone in the family to enjoy.

[Nielson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paddy gets to spend some time with his grandpa, Pops. Paddy is so excited but what he didn't expect is a house darker and spookier than he remembered! Paddy keeps getting woken up by strange noises so he and Pops decide to build a monster trap to catch the culprits!
This is just an o.k. book. The story doesn't grab the reader, but luckily the illustrations do...they are fantastic!

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really cute monster story about a little boy who spends the night at his grandfathers for the first time. He hears monsters and they keep hm up so his grandpa builds a monters trap. By the end of the book the monsters keep him up, but not because they are scaring him anymore!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malcolm says, "I like traps. And I like monsters. My favorite moment was when they caught the monsters. Also Mad Marvin's Monster Movie Madness is a lot of M's." (These thoughts appear to be unrelated, aside from the common theme of monsters.)

[Molly]

I got this from the library but didn't read it to the boys. So far they're not scared of monsters at night, and I don't want to give them any ideas. It does have a feel-good ending, but I don't want to push my luck.

[Stacy Natal · Rating 3 out of 5]

great illustrations, the kids were just so so about the story

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The monsters were truly adorable in this story.

[Phannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My toddlers loved this book. Not scary at all.

[Megan Mccormick · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was not very interesting or liked by myself or my kids whom i read it to.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story for a discussion about whether there are monsters or not and what to do if there are.

[Kristaciraptor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really whimsical and cute. Love the illustrations

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

the kids loved this one

[Ashly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrations for a wonderful story!

[Terry]

The story and illustrations combine to make a whimsical, creative take on that age-old problem of monsters coming out at night. How many weeks was this a "must read"? Only one way to find out!