ALA Booklist

'Tis the season for all things monstrous t not in Cutesville, "Home of the Fluffy." Bright's hairy, snaggle-toothed monster feels out of place amid the town's cutesy critters, so he packs his binoculars and guidebooks (The Rough Guide to the Big Wide World and Making Friends for Dummies, among others) and hits the road. Like the main characters in Mo Willems' Leonardo, the Terrible Monster (2005) and Tammi Sauer's Mostly Monsterly (2010), Monster's appearance doesn't match his sensitive disposition, and he yearns for someone to love him "just the way he is." Bright's rough-textured print technique ink degraded photocopy its our scruffy little hero to a T, while the bright, saturated color palette of reds and purples against pale and pretty backgrounds reflects his optimistic nature. The ending is disappointingly run-of-the-mill ter searching high and low, Monster's soul mate turns out to be a bus-driving girl monster who looks exactly like him t the friendly, clever text and winsome illustrations make this book a decent seasonal addition to the bedtime stack.

Horn Book

An odd-looking monster, who's the only non-cute creature in Cutesville, finally meets his true love (another odd-looking monster) after a long search. Bright concludes that "sometimes, when you least expect it...love finds you," but the ending of this lightweight love story isn't particularly unexpected. The chatty narrative and bold illustrations do, however, offer humorous moments.

Kirkus Reviews

Monster lives in Cutesville, where he feels his googly eyes make him unlovable, especially compared to all the "cute, fluffy" kittens, puppies and bunnies. He goes off to find someone who will appreciate him just the way he is…with funny and heartwarming results. A red, scraggly, pointy-eared, arm-dragging monster with a pronounced underbite clutches his monster doll to one side of his chest, exposing a purplish blue heart on the other. His oversized eyes express his loneliness. Bright could not have created a more sympathetic and adorable character. But she further impresses with the telling of this poor chap's journey. Since Monster is not the "moping-around sort," he strikes out on his own to find someone who will love him. "He look[s] high" from on top of a hill, and "he look[s] low" at the bottom of the same hill. The page turn reveals a rolling (and labeled) tumbleweed on a flat stretch. Here "he look[s] middle-ish." Careful pacing combines with dramatic design and the deadpan text to make this sad search a very funny one. When it gets dark and scary, he decides to head back home. A bus's headlights shine on his bent figure. All seems hopeless--until the next page surprises, with a smiling, orange monster with long eyelashes and a pink heart on her chest depicted at the wheel. And "in the blink of a googly eye / everything change[s]." This seemingly simple tale packs a satisfying emotional punch. Scarily good! (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

-In a world of cute, fluffy things- it-s -pretty darn hard- to be a monster. Bright-s hero is determined to find a soul mate, but keeps running into dead ends-a monster costume in a shop window, his own reflection in a pond. Just when he-s ready to give up, he notices that the bus driver is just his type. First published in the U.K., Bright-s underdog story is overly familiar, and her pink, googly-eyed main character is-contrary to the narration-almost undeniably cute, throwing his outcast status out the window. Still, Bright has a brisk but sympathetic voice that-s appealingly British, and her visual pacing is impeccable. Like the monster itself, this story wears its heart very visibly. Ages 2-4. (Dec.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1 Monster is funny-looking, slightly hairy, and googly-eyed. It doesn't help that he lives in a world of fluffy bunnies and cuddly kittens that the human children favor. Distraught, he decides to find someone to love him. After several dead ends, love finally finds him, and the two monsters walk off into the sunset holding hands. The story is sweet but somewhat bland. It is supported by a jaunty typeface and bright, cartoonlike illustrations with thick black lines. Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA