My Teacher is a Monster! 

by Peter Brown

Brown, P. (2014). My Teacher is a Monster! New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. 

She roars, she stomps, she keeps children in from recess; Bobby's teacher is a real monster.  One Saturday as Bobby is happily going along to his favorite spot in the park, he finds a terrible surprise... Ms. Kirby is at the park!  He feels trapped, what should he do?  He can't run away.  As Bobby forces himself to sit down and make small talk with his teacher, a gust of wind carries off Ms. Kirby's hat and he comes to the rescue.  What happens next is beautiful as teacher and student spend a bit of time together, and Bobby comes to see his teacher as a real person and not necessarily the monster he thought she was.  But honestly, don't we all have a little monster in us?

Evaluation Criteria: Theme

A student thinking their teacher is a monster is not exactly a new idea.  Teachers have to raise their voices and correct misbehavior and sometimes to children that can come across as “monstrous.”  However, when Bobby accidentally runs into his teacher, Ms. Kirby, in the park and they spend some real time together outside of class, he begins to see her more than just a disciplinarian and “monster”.  The theme of getting to know a person before passing judgment on them is strong and Brown does a terrific job of illustrating how Bobby’s perception of his teacher changes when she goes from an actual green monster to a real person.  


Visual Element: Shape

In My Teacher is a Monster, Brown creatively uses shapes to illustrate Bobby’s view of his teacher.  As the story begins Ms. Kirby is depicted as the monster Bobby sees her as, with a large awkwardly shaped green head, big circular nostrils, and sharp, pointy triangular shaped teeth and claws.  As the story progresses and Bobby comes to know his teacher on a more personal level, we see her features begin to soften and round out until eventually she takes on the same shapes and coloring as the children in the story.

Lesson Plans for use with My Teacher is a Monster!

My Teacher is a Monster! Read Aloud