I Will Chomp You!

by Jory John, Bob Shea (Illustrator)

A greedy, big-headed monster goes to great lengths to protect his precious cakes, which he’s hidden in the back of this book!

STOP RIGHT THERE. Don’t move a muscle, buster. Stay out of this book or I WILL CHOMP YOU!

So says the not-so-fierce inhabitant of I Will Chomp You, a tale of deception, greed…and cake!

Jory John and Bob Shea bring a fresh, hilarious twist to a time-tested blueprint as their little monster threatens, reasons and pleads with readers to go no further in the book because he will NOT share his beautiful, delicious cakes. Children will identify with the monster’s high valuation of his possessions, and (importantly) will laugh at the silly measures he takes to protect them.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Humor, Monsters, Food, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 4, 2015

About the author

Jory John is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and two-time E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor recipient.

Jory's work includes the #1 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Good Egg, and the #2 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Bad Seed, both illustrated by Pete Oswald. He is also the author of the popular picture books, Penguin Problems and Giraffe Problems, both illustrated by Lane Smith, the award-winning Goodnight Already! series, illustrated by Benji Davies, the New York Times bestselling Terrible Two series, the recent picture books Quit Calling Me a Monster! (with Bob Shea), Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back? (with Liz Climo), and the international bestseller, All my friends are dead, among many other books for both children and adults.

Reviews

[donna backshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love children's books that break the fourth wall. They allow the readers to join together with or usually against the main character in some hilarious contest or dare.

If you have a child who enjoys role playing and immersive reading with books, I'm sure you with both enjoy I Will Chomp You!. It's absolutely silly -- and who doesn't need a gigglefest right now?

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those yell-y books that lets you be obnoxious and loud while reading.
It's great good fun!

I can see that maybe some people may not want their children to pick up bad habits, such as threatening to chomp people who get too close to cake (my preshusss)


but you know what? Sometimes overreactions are funny and they are definitely delightful in this case.
Also, there are lessons learned and all that stuff so...do with that as you will.

Mostly, it is just fun to yell-growl, "I WILL CHOMP YOU!"
I have to say, though, that the monster looks more like a turtle and less like a monster. That may just be my perception, though.

Recommended to karen (obviously) and Allie Brosh (see picture above)

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, I get it. Yes, I know some kids need, and deserve, books as energetic as they are. Ok fine. But I still don't have to like it. Oh, and, big surprise, my almost new library copy already has a big rip on one of the later pages.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

My youngest son absolutely LOVED The Monster at the End of this Book. He would simply sit and vibrate as the ending (and the monster!) drew nearer and nearer. I can't imagine his reaction to this book where the monster is there the whole time, chomping away - luckily for the reader he's got really bad aim.

Bold graphics, and plenty of chomping should make this one a read-aloud favorite.




(I'm pretty sure I'll be sneaking to the grocery store soon to check out their day-old cake case . . . )

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are always enjoyable for kids--when they tell you to do or not do something and there is a consequence as a result. But I liked the cake twist in this. Made me smile. And I enjoyed being up close to see the reactions and actions of the frog, rabbit, and bird.

1/20/16 Used in C is for... theme. Best book for the storytime. They loved his Chomp threats, and his chomps. They loved the interactive "should I turn the page?" And they were entranced by the cakes page. I had them tell me their favorite cakes, too. Really cute!

1/24/18 Closer in C theme. Kids loved it. I had them join in with their hands for all the chomping. They liked looking at the cakes. I think I might have lost them on the very last page. Rather random it seems, but then it was a longer than usual storytime.

Kept for the weekend to read to the kids. Both of us had chances, too. SS (2 1/2) LOVED it! Repeated when Dad read it to him. Picked it out for me to read to him twice while he was with us. Definite hit for him. SD liked it as well.

8/20/18 Used in Movement storytime. Lot of newbies and young uns that this might have been slightly too long for. But overall went well.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

A monster warns quite sternly against turning the pages of this picture book or he will “chomp you”. As the story progresses and the reader continues to turn pages, the monster consistently misses chomping the reader. His bluster turns to pleading and ultimately a confession: the monster’s cakes are at the back of the book and he is selfishly guarding them. After further bargaining with the reader, he makes one last unsuccessful attempt to chomp the reader. Then the monster devours all the cakes and ends up with a stomachache. The blue monster is hardly scary; the bold fonts used for his dialogue are more frightening. The cartoon illustrations are bold and vivid. But ultimately, it’s been done before; “The Monster at the End of This Book” was much better. This one seems a little forced; guarding cakes is bizarre to me. This is definitely for two- to four-year-olds. I can hear them chomping as the story progresses, but older readers will find it just plain silly.

[Sara Grochowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch out! The little monster in this book is going to CHOMP you if you read any further. He may look cute, but he’s very serious. You would be too if you were hiding your delicious treasure at the end of this book! Little readers will find this monster who will do whatever it takes to protect his precious cakes absolutely hilarious. Expect this one to become a read aloud favorite!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fun but nothing new until the monster reveals his secret. Then it's like "OH YES I LOVE THIS BOOK."

[Danni Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fun to read aloud to the dog, but I would have a hard time reading it to a human child. The premise of the book is that the protagonist addresses the reader, exhorting the reader to respect the character's boundaries ("Don't turn the page!") with the ongoing assumption that the reader will, in fact, disregard the character's clear "no" and do exactly what the character is telling the reader not to do. It's obviously meant to be "all in good fun", but as someone who feels really strongly about modeling good, clear boundaries with people of all ages, it squicked me out too much to think of reading this to a child.

[Richelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspense.
Intrigue.
Drama.
My 3.5 year old loves this book.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't blame a man (dinosaur) when there's cake involved.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful interactive book along the lines of The Monster at the End of This Book. An angry dinosaur does his best to chomp you -- but what's he protecting? Turns out he just doesn't want to share his delicious cakes!

Loads of fun for story time, with chaotic illustrations that will engage the chomper in your life.

Notes on representation: the sole character is a cartoon dinosaur.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conceit is familiar (i.e. a character in the book begs the reader not to turn the pages, as in The Monster at the End of this Book or Warning: Do Not Open This Book!) but since it's executed with big, bold text and bright, boisterous colors, not to mention threats that the reader will be CHOMPED for continuing... it's definitely worth reading, and even better read aloud. As promised on the back cover, this is a "harrowing tale of greed, fury, deceit... and CAKE." (The appearance of so much random cake, in fact, was an charmingly retro surprise mid-way through.) Highly recommended for anyone who likes their story-time a little rowdy or likes to talk back to their book.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly, this book reminded me of the sweet & engaging "The Monster at the End of this Book" starring Sesame's Street's Grover, but without the charm, creativity and heart that makes this original story a star. Lackluster illustrations and a copycat tale make this picture book a hard one to recommend.

[Laura McLoughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute and determined little monster (or T-Rex, not entirely sure) who doesn't want to share his cake, which did look delicious. Kathryn enjoyed it as a bedtime story and insisted that we keep turning pages despite the little guy's warnings.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this - Bob Shea rocks!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is how I feel about cake.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor little Chomper. He wants people to stop reading this book and we don't. It's a great book about sharing, and about not being scared away by threats.

Talking points: Do you feel sorry for Chomper? What would be fair to Chomper? How do you feel when other people ignore your wishes.

Essential Oil Pairing Tip: I'm going to pair Lavender with this book. Why? Because it's the oil of communication - in being able to speak your truth and to listen and to hear and respect others thoughts as well. And I feel so sorry for Chomper that there didn't seem to be any any sense of compromise in this book.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is cute because it deals with a monster who doesn't want you to continue reading the book and he warns you by telling you that he will chomp you. Of course he can't but he gives it his very best effort. About halfway into the book he admits that he doesn't want you to continue to read the book because at the end are all his cakes that he doesn't want you to eat. When you continue through the book, he shares some of the cakes, hoping to satisfy you and ensure that you won't read the book again.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-CycleA cute, fun, energetic book about a little dinosaur who does not want to share (and pays the price for it at the end). This is an entertaining book, especially to read aloud (and to all scream "Chomp!" together). The illustrations are colorful and fun. Overall, an entertaining read about a greedy little dinosaur. The writing style is similar to Mo Willem's Pigeon books where the main character talks directly to the reader, which is a fun way to make the book more engaging.

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

N'avance pas plus dans ce livre, car si tu continues à lire, un monstre va te manger tout cru! Un album interactif dont le concept réjouira certainement les jeunes lecteurs, car il suppose de défier les avertissements de ce petit monstre bleu qui souhaite à tout prix que le lecteur s'en aille! Un découpage assez bien réussi qui permet facilement une lecture à voix haute avec un groupe d'enfants. Un livre qui ressemble beaucoup à Do Not Open This Book.

[Leah Hahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love books that you get to be a little more interactive with children. It is a book that requires a little higher energy to read like "The Book With No Pictures". Do I think this is a book that could be read every day? No, however I feel that kids appreciate having a book like this read to them every now and then. I mean who doesn't want to pretend to escape the grasp of a chomping dinosaur to find out what he is hiding at the end of his book:)

[Katie Oflibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the books of Jory John and Bob Shea. Their newer books are better and so this fell a bit flat for me. It's fine but their other books are excellent, particularly the newer stuff, I can see hints of what I love about them but it's not quite there yet for me.

[Morf Morford · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a fun read-aloud book, this is it. For kids of a certain age (my grandson is 5 and has this book on continual reading time) this book, and its premise, is irresistible.

My grandson is even on a quest to write his own version of this book.

If nothing else, request that your local library get a copy (or two).

If you are of the school of thought that kids should get hooked on books as early as possible, this is a perfect gateway....

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to There's a Monster at the End of this Book.
Interactive and silly. The monster in this book does not want to share his cakes.
Tie-in with Halloween when the emphasis is on scary creatures and monsters. Our school does not allow celebrations of Halloween as such, but scary/not scary books are OK.
Possibly tie in also with discussions about the difficulty of sharing.
Fountas and Pinnell reading level: J

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take a peak at this book and if you turn the page, the monster threatens to chomp you. The threats continue as the monster becomes incensed and more and more desperate. By the end of the story the reason becomes clear, almost forgivable. Read this to a young class just before lunch time to discover the secret. A fun and funny read.

[Pug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems phoned in. I don't really care for picture books that talk directly to you. Especially when this dumb monster keeps "missing" as he tries to chomp me. But I did enjoy the twist: the monster was protecting his cakes!!!! A whole bunch of them, in a range of delicious flavors, that he stores in the back of his book. Obsessing over cake... I can get behind that!

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A monster threatens to CHOMP! readers if they continue to read. After a few missed tries, the monster admits that he is protecting all of his favorite cakes in the back of the book. After sharing a few pieces of cake the monster asks if the reader plans on coming back. He really wishes you wouldn't. But fine. If you insist... CHOMP!

Hilarious storytime addition!

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't think of a more winning duo than Jory John and Bob Shea, but this book turned out to be a pretty unoriginal monster book (in my opinion). I thought the end of the book was cute, but my playtime wouldn't sit through the whole thing. Frankly, I'm not quite sure why it was so long and verbose.

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is pure fun! I think kids will enjoy the silly dinosaur that keeps trying to warn and chomp the reader. He is trying to stop the reader from finding out a secret toward the end of the book. It features colorful, exciting and engaging illustrations throughout the book. Highly recommended for Grades 1-3.