She's blonde, she's pink, she's human—and so, as the "monster" living in sluglike Morris' closet, she's terrifying.In a series of independent, single-page comics originally published in French, Simard takes the well-worn monster-under-the-bed trope, turns it on its head, and adds all sorts of ooky bits. Simone can make her bug-eyed green companion—and everyone else in Simard's simply drawn, topsy-turvy monster world—run away screaming just by bringing a cute puppy to class or cleaning house. On the other hand, she casually brushes past bats and dangling spiders and seems less grossed-out (read: delighted) than readers will be to see Morris swimming in the gooey effluent of a giant nose, watching him roll snowballs down a hill to play "zombie bowling," or being introduced to his little brother, Farto. The emotional undercurrents are definitely less nuanced here than in, for instance, Barbara Jean Hicks' Jitterbug Jam, illustrated by Alexis Deacon (2005), but so what, when there are zombies, a Santa-eating house, buckets of puke, and many like delicacies to savor? Knee-slappers galore for fans of alimentary and other mildly transgressive gags. (Graphic fantasy. 6-8)

Morris is a green, wormlike creature haunted by his own monster, a little girl named Simone. She may seem sweet, but she's absolutely terrifying to Morris. Each time she meets him, Simone tries to befriend him with nice things like flowers, only to drive the green creature into a scared panic. Each page contains a three- to five-panel comic that wraps itself up nicely with an obvious punchline, often pointing out the mismatched nature of the duo's friendship. In one story, Morris is excited to show Simone his Halloween costume, only to reveal it's simply a costume of Simone. Elsewhere, Simone brings in a puppy for show and tell, only to scare Morris. Though the stories occasionally get a bit repetitive, that only serves to give emerging readers lots of opportunities to practice reading comics, and the simple word choice and bright colors should help get struggling readers engaged. Simard's angular, cartoonish artwork matches the tone of the stories, featuring friendly characters and basic backgrounds. A good choice for beginning readers or as an introduction to graphic novels.