• Monster on the Hill
• written and illustrated by Rob Harrell
• published by Top Shelf Productions (2013)
• Roar Score: 5/5

Imagine a world where every town has its own monster, and that monster is part menace/part savior. Like a hometown sports team, the monster is a point of pride. The townsfolk are terrified of its attacks, but they also delight in its rampages. This is hometown pride on an entirely new, wackadoo level.

And just like sports teams, it all boils down to being able to taunt “OUR monster is better than YOUR monster.”

Some monsters win the World Series every year. Some are the Chicago Cubs of the monster world. Enter Rayburn: the pathetic monster that has totally disappointed his townspeople.

This is the premise of Monster on the Hill, and it’s fantastic. Over 186 pages of twists, turns, and plenty of laughs, we follow along as the “eccentric Dr. Charles Wilkie and plucky street urchin Timothy” embark on a quest to restore Rayburn’s monstrous ways and pride to the town of Stoker-on-Avon.

Any book with a plucky street urchin is a winner by me.

Rob Harrell is a comic strip creator—as in those four-panel strips that appear in newspapers (yes, they still exist)—who wrote and drew Big Top from 2002–2007 and is currently working on Adam@Home. Monster on the Hill was his first original graphic novel.

It is gorgeously illustrated throughout, and the character designs are simply fantastic. They are immediately engaging for readers of all ages—both the humans and the monsters.

It’s rare enough to encounter an original concept in books (let alone in children’s books), but it’s even rarer when that new concept is executed so successfully.

Monster on the Hill is a pure delight, from the very first panel. It held Zoey’s fascination over several nights of reading, and she instantly wanted to meet the author/artist. So that’s a good sign. Maybe look for him in a future installment of 5 Questions with a 5-Year-Old.

Highly recommended for all ages. There are a few instances of more “adult” language (of the British variety, though) that are easily edited out if reading aloud. If kids are reading it on their own, they may give it two thumbs up and call it “bloody fantastic.”

There are worse things.