This Is the House That Monsters Built by Steve Metzger

by Steve Metzger

"This is the skeleton who nailed down the floor,
That upset the werewolf who put in a door,
That stopped the spider who started to crawl,
That shocked the mummy who raised the wall,
Inside the house that monsters built."

This Is the House That Monsters Built uses the building verse characteristic of the original nursery rhyme "This Is the House That Jack Built." A vampire, a ghost, a zombie, a mummy, and more all contribute to the spooky fun in the house that monsters built.

Young children will love the zany artwork featuring all the different monsters from bestselling illustrator Jared Lee!

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Holiday, Childrens, Monsters, Storytime

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1843

About the author

I grew up in Queens, NY in the 1950s with my “baby” sister, Lois. She is now a wonderful writer of young adult novels and nonfiction. My mother was born in Vienna, Austria, and my father came from Brooklyn – an interesting match! My best friends were Neil, Robbie, Krebs, and Paul. I’m still good friends with most of these guys. It was less hectic in those days – no computers, no emails, fewer TV channels (MANY fewer!) We had lots of fun playing ball and listening to records. I’ll never forget when the Beatles came to America – Beatlemania!
After graduating from Baruch College in NYC, I didn’t know what to do with my life. I bounced around doing odd jobs, including taxi driver, dishwasher, and hotel desk clerk. One day, while relaxing in Central Park (OK, I was unemployed), I saw a group of children from a local daycare center. It struck me that I always liked children -- perhaps I could make a career out of something I liked. Eureka! Ever since then, I’ve been involved, in one way or another, with the lives of young children.

I received my Masters in Education from Bank Street College and taught preschool kids for a bunch of years. I loved the childrens' innocence and vivid imaginations. After moving into school administration for a few years, I began working at Scholastic, where I have been ever since.

At Scholastic, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to write children’s books. The first book that I wrote was "The Dinofours: I’m Super Dino!" Twenty-seven other Dinofours’ books followed. I hope my respect and appreciation for young children shines through in my stories.

Nowadays, I’m lucky to be married to my beautiful and talented wife, Nancy (she’s also a writer). In 1998, we were blessed with a terrific daughter, Julia, who helps criticize my story ideas and lets me play with her once in a while.

And furthermore…any recollections of my life would not be complete without mentioning my grandmother, Mutti. She was an ever present source of love, appreciation, and wisdom.

Reviews

[Jakob J. 🎃 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Halloween twist on The House that Jack Built . Not the Lars Von Trier film, or the Graham Masterton novel, but the original nursery rhyme, This is the House That Jack Built , with which I don’t recall being familiarized as a child, somehow. No matter. Everything can be improved by integrating Halloween themes.

The verse is cute enough, simple, incorporating all the classic Halloween cast of creatures, although not reliably felicitous: (The skeleton was rattled. That checks out, but the werewolf…got upset? What about hair-raised, snarled, moonstruck? Something, anything that ties in with the lore somehow. (Werewolves, notoriously disappointed creatures).

Here I am, griping about lycanthropes and children’s literature again. Somebody stop me. Now to dissect Shakira’s hit song, She Wolf. Awooooo!

But the star of This is the House That Monsters Built is undoubtedly illustrator Jared Lee, most famous, I think, for the (School Authority Figure from the) Black Lagoon series, innocently macabre and memorable books.

The detail in Lee’s signature style shows commitment and personality. This is no exception. Like buzzing childhood nightmares, it is a pleasant blend of fun and fright.

Sing this book to your kids, your pets; invent your own spooky melody, imprint the images, and create a cherished Halloween memory.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halloween version of The House That Jack Built with signature Jared Lee illustrations.

[Natalie Greaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has good elements of repetition. There are also elements of rhyming words. There is a lot of text on each page and might not be appropriate for younger children. This book might scare younger children and also not be appropriate for a classroom setting. I did however, enjoy the story and the illustrations.

[Kid's Picture Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I love this book. It's quirky and fun. We’ve read it so many times that there are pages where I don’t even really need to look at the words and can still say all of the rhymes. Sometimes he wants me to see how fast I can read it and I get out of breath, especially near the end when the rhyme gets really long.

[AMY · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute but not too frightening book. It is based on the story The House that Jack Built. It has rhymes and poetic qualities. The illustrations are very funny. I really think kids will love this one. Recommended for grades 2-5.

[Janice Ha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the graphics and the repetition or sequence of the story. This book is best read when its during the Halloween time, because the characters are the Halloween themed characters that are mummy, werewolf, Frankenstein, and others more.

[Leandra Cano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows the lines of, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. It is great to engage the children and follow sequencing. You can use it too ask, do you remember what happened next questions. Over all this is an adorable book.

[Betul Kilinc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very fun Halloween themed story with lost of spooky pictures. I loved how they made scary Halloween things less scary throughout the story. There is lots of great repetition in this story that I know little kids will love to hear and read along to!

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids will just love this book! It is a cute book about what scares each monster and so the build various parts of the house.

[Holli Shipley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very funny book. It has great illustrations of all the scary monsters. The book has repetitive and rhyming lines. It is easy to follow for preschoolers or kindergartners.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Laughed out loud and wish I still had a school full of students to read this to every year.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative rendition of "The House that Jack Built" with a cast of monsters.

[Natasha Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids would love this book, its repetitiveness is easy for the children to follow along, and fun to read.

[Evita LaQua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book even though it is a bit wordy. I think the best time to read this book is around Halloween. There is a lot of repetition. It should be read in small group. Pictures are nice.

[Jessica Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of repetition and fun to read. Awesome illustrations!

[Shantay Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Funny, repetitious, and engaging. Way too long. I was over the book before the middle.

[Marissa Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for Halloween. Very engaging and repetitive. The images and pictures are funny for children and overall humourous book.

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read-aloud that pairs well with hand motions. It lacks in inventiveness.

[Bridgette Elston · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute but about halfway I asked my 6 year old if i could skip the repeats and just say the new lines. It was a fun story with good illustrations but a bulky read.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Building verse story for the littles on Halloween.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

October 2019 - mildly spooky cumulative story, retelling This is the House That Jack Built.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book its alot of fun. Its a bit of a toung twister but it's great especially if you make sound affects or a song out of it.

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay, found it a little lacking

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute re-imagining of "The House that Jack Built." The illustrations make this book!
A fun read-aloud especially with the children helping with all the repetition.

[Charles Clem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it to my sons it's a very fun book

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

10/30/22: A fun Halloween book that is written like "This is the House That Jack Built" and the illustrations are cute. This will be a great one to read with the grandchild in years to come.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It doesn’t flow as well as The House That Jack Built, and it lacked a bit of something (that I can’t put my finger on), but the illustrations are pretty cool, and I love Halloween-themed books.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed (and humorous) illustrations, with a style that reminds me of Ed Emberley.

[Ashley Aolani Salisbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very cute. I loved all the monsters and what they were scared of.

[Cheree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story to listen to and read. I love the repettitive nature and content of the story that is appealing to children and silly. Children can get involved with this one so its a great book for bringing them in and including them.