Horrible Harry is a monster whose job is to scare humans away from the forest. A single roar usually suffices – that is, until the fateful day when he tries to frighten a little girl and has to bellow twice to distract her from her book. Curious about the object that held her attention for so long, Harry picks up the book she dropped and examines it for taste, smell, and texture. Then an educated monster friend comes along and shows him how to read. Soon, he’s left the fright business and is hosting storytime for the other monsters.

At that point, the whole forest becomes tame and so, disappointingly, does the plot. The trouble is that there’s not much action after Harry and the others discover books; reading isn’t an interesting spectator sport. And if you look at the ostensibly happy ending from the point of view of the monsters, being tamed isn’t pretty – but then, that’s what Shakespeare’s Caliban has been trying to say for the past 400 years.

Fortunately, there are some quirky details that transcend the book’s pro-literacy agenda. The translation (from the original French version) is lively, sporting such words as “skedaddle” and “frolick.” There are also visual details that play up the story’s humorous touches. For example, Harry’s reading audience is described in terms of eye count rather than head count, and illustrator Rogé has made eyeballs into a recurring motif. This detail, along with others in the pictures, links the book to previous books by Rogé. It’s a fun connection to make, since the self-reference within the artwork mirrors the broader self-reference of a book that’s about reading books.