I randomly had this book included in my Thriftbooks order, and since it was extra and not an accidental replacement of the book I ordered I read it. The book is presented as a kind of chapter book with some elements of graphic novels as well. This means that there are tons of illustrations in addition to narration paragraphs and dialog bubbles. The story takes place around bedtime as Billy is trying to go to sleep but only thinking about monsters. This is ironic because there are monsters in Billy’s bedroom, and they’re about to make an appearance. Luckily for Billy, they are small, not dangerous, and cute. So you can more or less guess the story from here. Main takeaway is that there is a fart monster.
One thing that stands out to me here is that the book is also an advertisement for other books in the series, which is no problem, but that also this means selling on the specific merits of the book itself as a reading tool. I get it, but I also kind of hate it. As an English teacher, I already hate reading materials that are designed purely as reading materials, and it’s not to say that this book is only that, but that’s part of how it presents itself. I would feel a little cheated as a kid knowing that.