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Leonardo #2
Sam, the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World
One day Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world, makes a terrifying discovery. It's not Frankenthaler the monster. It's her friend--Kerry!
Kerry, the second most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world, also makes a terrifying discovery. It's not Leonardo the monster. It's his friend--Sam!
"AAAAH!" yells Sam.
"EEEEK!" yells Kerry.
Something has to be done. Something BIG. But what?
Kerry, the second most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world, also makes a terrifying discovery. It's not Leonardo the monster. It's his friend--Sam!
"AAAAH!" yells Sam.
"EEEEK!" yells Kerry.
Something has to be done. Something BIG. But what?
48 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2017
3 people are currently reading
314 people want to read
About the author
Mo Willems
231 books4,112 followers#1 New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator Mo Willems is best known for his Caldecott Honor winning picture books Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale.
In addition to such picture books as Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct, and Time to Pee, Mo has created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of early readers, and published You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons, an annotated cartoon journal sketched during a year-long voyage around the world in 1990-91.
The New York Times Book Review called Mo “the biggest new talent to emerge thus far in the 00's."
Mo’s work books have been translated into a myriad of languages, spawned animated shorts and theatrical musical productions, and his illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation.
Mo began his career as a writer and animator for television, garnering 6 Emmy awards for his writing on Sesame Street, creating Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats, Cartoon Network’s Sheep in the Big City and head-writing Codename: Kids Next Door.
He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his family.
In addition to such picture books as Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct, and Time to Pee, Mo has created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of early readers, and published You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons, an annotated cartoon journal sketched during a year-long voyage around the world in 1990-91.
The New York Times Book Review called Mo “the biggest new talent to emerge thus far in the 00's."
Mo’s work books have been translated into a myriad of languages, spawned animated shorts and theatrical musical productions, and his illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation.
Mo began his career as a writer and animator for television, garnering 6 Emmy awards for his writing on Sesame Street, creating Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats, Cartoon Network’s Sheep in the Big City and head-writing Codename: Kids Next Door.
He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
July 20, 2018
Mo Willems has found an interesting character to appeal to his young reader. Sam is surely one of the most scaredy-cat kids in the entire world, afraid of everything you can imagine. He is sure that he's the only kid like this, until he meets Kerry. While Sam has a docile monster in Leonardo, he is completely petrified of Kerry's monster, Frankenthaler. After Leonardo and Frankenthaler sneak away for a while, Sam and Kerry realise just how alike they are. Rather than both being afraid, they invest their time in becoming friends, which seems the better option. Neo liked this new series and hopes to find more. He could not help but laugh at these two scaredy-cat kids and vows never to be as spooked as they are about simple things.
August 28, 2017
Mo Willems kills the Gerald and Piggie series and could do literally anything he wants.. so he resurrects Leonardo the Terrible Monster.. his least awesome book.. also for some reason he can't draw monsters very well.. and Sam is super annoying.. and there's a lot of screaming. Like way too much. Dude.. just bring back Gerald and Piggie.. seriously..
November 4, 2017
Review also published at kissthebook.blogspot.com
Considering the prequel to this book, "Leonardo the Terrible Monster," is one of my favorite books EVER, I knew I would enjoy this book. And I did. Its a short and simple story that has great illustrations and will appeal to kids of all ages. That being said, the story is not as strong as "Leonardo" but still fun. You cannot go wrong with Mo Willems and my preschooler is still asking for this book almost every day.
Considering the prequel to this book, "Leonardo the Terrible Monster," is one of my favorite books EVER, I knew I would enjoy this book. And I did. Its a short and simple story that has great illustrations and will appeal to kids of all ages. That being said, the story is not as strong as "Leonardo" but still fun. You cannot go wrong with Mo Willems and my preschooler is still asking for this book almost every day.
October 30, 2017
In this adorable follow-up to Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, Sam is the main character. His friendship with Leonardo is intact, but his fears live on. When Sam and Leonardo run into Kerry, the second most scaredy-cat kid in the world and her monster Frankenthaler, terror is the natural result. But Leonardo and Frankenthaler don't have the patience to deal with the problem and leave, requiring Sam and Kerry to face each other alone. In this rather unusual story of friendship, Willems, once again shows it's possible to face our fears and make the best of things. A winning story that many young listeners/readers can relate to, especially the fear of making friends.
February 13, 2018
Sam is scared of everything, except for his monster friend Leonardo. When Sam meets Kerry and her monster friend Frankenthaler, Sam is afraid of Kerry, and Kerry is afraid of Sam.
Cute, humorous book about overcoming fear.
Cute, humorous book about overcoming fear.
September 14, 2017
I liked it, but I was a little disappointed. Something about it just didn't feel like it was up to Mo Willem's usual standards.
September 19, 2017
Willems take on fear and friendship with Leonardo leading the way.
Have to see how it works for a class visit or Halloween.
Have to see how it works for a class visit or Halloween.
picture-books
September 21, 2017It's not Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, but it's sweet enough.
February 5, 2018
It was going good until the end where I felt it made no sense saying " they had been replaced by two new friends". I thought it was going somewhere else and that sentence seemed out of the blue.
August 31, 2023
This is a creative book about how a boy made a new friend.
September 22, 2017
A nice little tale of making new friends. Honest and very Mo Willems.
September 11, 2017
Will still make a fun read aloud, but didn't quite equal up to Leonardo.
February 12, 2018
I felt this book was pretty silly but my son seems to love it a lot. He finds it quite funny.
February 22, 2019
Very cute sequel to Leo the Terrible Monster. This is a story about how its okay to be afraid but its good to try to not be afraid.
April 18, 2022
I generally love Mo Willems, but I don't think this series is his best.
January 3, 2024
A perfectly fine picture book, but definitely not a classic Mo Willems banger.
Not every book needs a sequel, sometimes less is Mo.
Not every book needs a sequel, sometimes less is Mo.
September 6, 2017
Not as strong as the previous book, but fine.
October 2, 2017
Not nearly as good as the original and also harder to share as a group read aloud.
Read
December 13, 2018This sequel to Leonardo the Terrible Monster is cute, though not my favorite from Willems. He does include a black girl in the illustrations, and it's about time we had some diversity that isn't SHOWING DIVERSITY.
September 9, 2017
Originally posted on You Have Your Hands Full
Sam The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World is a picture book written and illustrated by Mo Willems. It’s somewhat of a sequel to Leonardo the Terrible Monster, which has always been one of our favorite Willems books. I preordered this book six months ago, and everybody was so excited when it finally arrived.
Sam is a little boy who is afraid of everything except for his monster friend Leonardo. One day, Sam and Leonardo meet Kerry and Frankenthaler, who are a girl and monster duo. Both children are scared, and it is quickly established that they are not afraid of the unfamiliar monster- they are afraid of the unfamiliar child. What can Leonardo and Frankenthaler do to help their kids see that they might have more in common than they thought?
Willems uses colorful but plain backgrounds to showcase his characters. By eliminating clutter, this allows the reader to focus on the body language and facial expressions, which turn out to be the source of much of the comedy. The text is rather minimal, and the illustrations end up telling some of the story far more eloquently than words.
My oldest girl is in fifth grade, and my twins are in third grade. They are getting a little old for picture books, but they will always make time for Mo Willems. They absolutely loved this book, and laughed just as loudly as they did when they were in kindergarten and preschool. The first thing they did was to look for the Pigeon. Willems hides his iconic bird in every one of his books. They also appreciated the reference to tuna salad, a throwback to Leonardo the Terrible Monster.
I would absolutely recommend Sam The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World. This book will appeal to preschoolers as well as children in the early years of elementary school. I do think that it helps to have read Leonardo the Terrible Monster before this book, but you can still appreciate this book just as much even if you haven’t read Leonardo. This is a sweet and simple story about stepping out of your comfort zone and making new friends. This is a silly book, infused with Willems’ trademark quirky humor. We are very happy to add this to our collection of picture books.
Sam The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World is a picture book written and illustrated by Mo Willems. It’s somewhat of a sequel to Leonardo the Terrible Monster, which has always been one of our favorite Willems books. I preordered this book six months ago, and everybody was so excited when it finally arrived.
Sam is a little boy who is afraid of everything except for his monster friend Leonardo. One day, Sam and Leonardo meet Kerry and Frankenthaler, who are a girl and monster duo. Both children are scared, and it is quickly established that they are not afraid of the unfamiliar monster- they are afraid of the unfamiliar child. What can Leonardo and Frankenthaler do to help their kids see that they might have more in common than they thought?
Willems uses colorful but plain backgrounds to showcase his characters. By eliminating clutter, this allows the reader to focus on the body language and facial expressions, which turn out to be the source of much of the comedy. The text is rather minimal, and the illustrations end up telling some of the story far more eloquently than words.
My oldest girl is in fifth grade, and my twins are in third grade. They are getting a little old for picture books, but they will always make time for Mo Willems. They absolutely loved this book, and laughed just as loudly as they did when they were in kindergarten and preschool. The first thing they did was to look for the Pigeon. Willems hides his iconic bird in every one of his books. They also appreciated the reference to tuna salad, a throwback to Leonardo the Terrible Monster.
I would absolutely recommend Sam The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World. This book will appeal to preschoolers as well as children in the early years of elementary school. I do think that it helps to have read Leonardo the Terrible Monster before this book, but you can still appreciate this book just as much even if you haven’t read Leonardo. This is a sweet and simple story about stepping out of your comfort zone and making new friends. This is a silly book, infused with Willems’ trademark quirky humor. We are very happy to add this to our collection of picture books.
September 21, 2023
This story is about a boy named Sam, who was scared of everything. He was scared of everything; however, he was not scared of his friend Leonardo. One crazy thing about Leonardo was that he was a monster and a terrible monster at that. One day Leonardo and Sam were walking and they saw another group, and Sam got scared, because there was a girl and a monster. However, he wasn’t scared of the monster but he was scared of the girl named Kerry. Because Sam and Kerry were both screaming both monsters, Leonardo and Frankenthaler, both left them to figure it out. Sam and Kerry had to figure out that they should not be scared of each other and because they started to hangout a lot they realized they had a lot in common and some differences. Both Kerry and Sam became close friends. I think this story is a great theme for children to go out of their way even if it scares them. This also gives a good example for children to make new friends, because it can be scary to meet new people.
Going back on to our readings in class, I believe this story would match with Nonsense, by Heyman and Shortsleeve. The reason why I believe it goes back to this article is that there is a bit of nonsense in the story, with the characters and some of the story itself. The characterization of the characters and how the two monsters are friends. It is not really possible to have monsters in the real world. The wording of the story has a bit of nonsense with onomatopoeia, there were a lot of these words throughout the story showing us what the characters feared and enjoyed.
Going back on to our readings in class, I believe this story would match with Nonsense, by Heyman and Shortsleeve. The reason why I believe it goes back to this article is that there is a bit of nonsense in the story, with the characters and some of the story itself. The characterization of the characters and how the two monsters are friends. It is not really possible to have monsters in the real world. The wording of the story has a bit of nonsense with onomatopoeia, there were a lot of these words throughout the story showing us what the characters feared and enjoyed.
December 15, 2017
Willems, Mo Sam the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World. PICTURE BOOK. Hyperion, 2017. $17.99.
Sam is scared of basically everything except his monster friend, Leonard. One day Sam and Leonard run into Kerry (the 2nd most scaredy-cat kid in the world) and her monster friend, Frankenthaler, and Sam and Kerry both decide they are terrified of each other. The monsters leave them to settle this one on their own and the two kids eventually discover they have a lot in common. Rather than be scared of each other, they decide to be friends.
Considering the prequel to this book, "Leonardo the Terrible Monster," is one of my favorite books EVER, I knew I would enjoy this book. And I did. Its a short and simple story that has great illustrations and will appeal to kids of all ages. That being said, the story is not as strong as "Leonardo" but still fun. You cannot go wrong with Mo Willems and my preschooler is still asking for this book almost every day.
Pre-K, EL (K-3), EL--ADVISABLE. Reviewer: TC
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
Sam is scared of basically everything except his monster friend, Leonard. One day Sam and Leonard run into Kerry (the 2nd most scaredy-cat kid in the world) and her monster friend, Frankenthaler, and Sam and Kerry both decide they are terrified of each other. The monsters leave them to settle this one on their own and the two kids eventually discover they have a lot in common. Rather than be scared of each other, they decide to be friends.
Considering the prequel to this book, "Leonardo the Terrible Monster," is one of my favorite books EVER, I knew I would enjoy this book. And I did. Its a short and simple story that has great illustrations and will appeal to kids of all ages. That being said, the story is not as strong as "Leonardo" but still fun. You cannot go wrong with Mo Willems and my preschooler is still asking for this book almost every day.
Pre-K, EL (K-3), EL--ADVISABLE. Reviewer: TC
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
September 6, 2017
Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, returns in this story about the kid he tried to scare who then became his friend--Sam. Sam is definitely not afraid of Leonardo, but when he sees the second most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world, he screeches! Kerry (the second most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world) also has a monster friend who she is not scared of. She is just as frightened by Sam as Sam is by her! To no avail, the two monsters try to get their friends to calm down and talk. They just keep screaming. The two monsters decide to let the humans figure things out on their own and go get coffee. Eventually, Sam and Kerry stop screeching and start to get to know each other. They find things they both dislike, things just one of them likes, and things they both like. By the time the monsters return, both of their friends have disappeared. Aah! The humans jump out at them as they really like trying to scare their monsters best of all.
Good for preschool or older kid storytimes.
Good for preschool or older kid storytimes.
Read
May 26, 2018I know lots of people love Mo Willems' work, but I've been mostly on a break from books by white dudes, so I hadn't gotten around to reading any of his stuff -- and then #MeToo allegations came out against him.
But Minh Lê's "Best Picture Books of 2017" gave this an Honorable Mention for "Funniest," and I'm something of a completionist, so I read it.
I really liked the idea of a kid who's scared of everything except an actual monster. (Apparently this is a sequel to Leonardo, the Terrible Monster .) I'm not sure the ending entirely works, but I generally enjoyed the book.
But Minh Lê's "Best Picture Books of 2017" gave this an Honorable Mention for "Funniest," and I'm something of a completionist, so I read it.
I really liked the idea of a kid who's scared of everything except an actual monster. (Apparently this is a sequel to Leonardo, the Terrible Monster .) I'm not sure the ending entirely works, but I generally enjoyed the book.
July 11, 2019
You should read Leonardo the Terrible Monster in conjunction with this book. Sam is still scared of everything, but he has gotten used to Leonardo and is no longer afraid of him. But everything else in the world still seems to be terrifying to him. (I feel for the kid. There is a great deal of terrifying stuff in today's world if you don't monitor the intake.)
So one day Sam meets a new person, Kerry, and a NEW KID. The monster accompanying her doesn't faze either child, only the NEW KID. The two monsters don't know what to do. All of their assurances about the new kid falls on deaf ears and all their screaming is giving both monsters a headache. So they do want all responsible monster friends do they leave and let them sort it out. As the children calm down and talk they find they have a great deal in common. When the two coffee drinking monsters return they are greeted with a big surprise. SURPRISE!!!!! Great ending.
So one day Sam meets a new person, Kerry, and a NEW KID. The monster accompanying her doesn't faze either child, only the NEW KID. The two monsters don't know what to do. All of their assurances about the new kid falls on deaf ears and all their screaming is giving both monsters a headache. So they do want all responsible monster friends do they leave and let them sort it out. As the children calm down and talk they find they have a great deal in common. When the two coffee drinking monsters return they are greeted with a big surprise. SURPRISE!!!!! Great ending.
March 8, 2020
3+ Missing a little something to make it really a classic (maybe it was that last line? Like the suprise but just wasn't fond of the wording) Still, a cute follow-up to Leonardo, the Terrible Monster. Not quite as much fun as the first book but it's still Mo Willems. It's a lot of screaming, which can be a fun storytime read (silly voices always a plus), but as ridiculous as it can be, screaming's not as much fun as Sam's meltdown in the first book.
It's a good message though, about facing fear and making new friends. I can see using it for storytimes on monsters, friends, or fear/being brave. It'd be a good one to recommend to families as they move in and out of the area, added to the list of books on making new friends.
It's a good message though, about facing fear and making new friends. I can see using it for storytimes on monsters, friends, or fear/being brave. It'd be a good one to recommend to families as they move in and out of the area, added to the list of books on making new friends.
January 23, 2018
Being big fans of the first book about Leonardo, we were super excited to check this one out. Like we suspected, it’s silly, clever and hilarious (though nothing can quite top the first one).
In a nutshell, this story is about Leonardo’s friend, Sam, and also a kid named Kerry, who is friends with a new monster, named Frankenthaler. These scaredy-cat kids are terrified of one another and the monsters don’t have any idea what to do, except leave the kids alone to figure it out.
In this book’s ginormous pages, Mo Willems creates a funny story in his uniquely witty way, about how friendship can come in the most unexpected places. (And that even people who like tuna fish salad can be friends with people who don’t).
In a nutshell, this story is about Leonardo’s friend, Sam, and also a kid named Kerry, who is friends with a new monster, named Frankenthaler. These scaredy-cat kids are terrified of one another and the monsters don’t have any idea what to do, except leave the kids alone to figure it out.
In this book’s ginormous pages, Mo Willems creates a funny story in his uniquely witty way, about how friendship can come in the most unexpected places. (And that even people who like tuna fish salad can be friends with people who don’t).
September 26, 2018
Sam is scared of just about everything. Except his friend Leonardo the Monster. When Sam meets Kerry (the 2nd most scaredy-cat kid in the world) and her monster, Frankenthaler, screams errupt, eyes are rolled, and something must be done.
I love the irony in this book. It would be a super fun book for practicing making predictions and then revising those predictions (because it doesn't quite go the way you'd expect). I also like that Sam overcomes his fear and discovers a new friend. Kids may not be quite as scared as Sam, but making new friends can be intimidating and this is a fun way to talk about how to do that. (P.S. Those monsters are super brave to drink coffee with Pigeon's face on the cup.)
I love the irony in this book. It would be a super fun book for practicing making predictions and then revising those predictions (because it doesn't quite go the way you'd expect). I also like that Sam overcomes his fear and discovers a new friend. Kids may not be quite as scared as Sam, but making new friends can be intimidating and this is a fun way to talk about how to do that. (P.S. Those monsters are super brave to drink coffee with Pigeon's face on the cup.)
May 31, 2023
Too much EEK and AAH. - RML
I like the book. It's funny. - KOB
I like the book because it's funny, and there are a lot of parts in it when they go eek and aah, and they're not scaredy-cats anymore. They're friends. - SS
The book was amazing, and it was funny at the same time. It was a really short book. - DT
I liked the book. I liked the ending where they scream and they became friends. They show kindness to one another. - TC
I like both of them because they're scaredy cats, and also because some of them had different stuff that they didn't like and they do like, and I like that. - ACS
The book was really funny, and Sam and Kerry were scared all the time because they were scaredy-cats. - SF
I like the book. It's funny. - KOB
I like the book because it's funny, and there are a lot of parts in it when they go eek and aah, and they're not scaredy-cats anymore. They're friends. - SS
The book was amazing, and it was funny at the same time. It was a really short book. - DT
I liked the book. I liked the ending where they scream and they became friends. They show kindness to one another. - TC
I like both of them because they're scaredy cats, and also because some of them had different stuff that they didn't like and they do like, and I like that. - ACS
The book was really funny, and Sam and Kerry were scared all the time because they were scaredy-cats. - SF
December 13, 2025
Sam and his best monster friend, Leonardo, are going about a normal day of Sam being terrified of everything (except Leonardo the monster), when they run into Kerry and her best monster friend, Frankenthaler. Kerry is the second most terrified kid in the world, so as she and Sam are screaming at each other, Leonardo and Frankenthaler come to a decision.
Mr. Willems does a fantastic job of letting the characters do obvious (and usually humorous) things; the monsters' solution was exactly what I was imagining and had me laugh out loud! I really liked that the kids had to work at their friendship, it wasn't handed to them by other people (or monsters') effort and took them out of their own problems/issues.
No content issues; there are monsters, but they aren't scary.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews