Meet Little Monstrie, the star of "Little Monstrie's Big Adventures" by Maria Kabanova and Margarita Grezina.
Little Monstrie is finding out that it's a big, big old world out there - but he's full of joie de vivre and loves his life despite being told that he's not quite 'normal' (whatever that means!)
With a strong core message to believe in yourself and your own abilities, little Monstrie sometimes wishes he had a cooler name, or that he could do the things some of his older friends are allowed to do (like watching TV after school or scoffing sweeties).
The book is rather beautifully designed to follow a chapter book format but without the chapter markers, dealing with tricky subjects that many youngsters will instantly identify with, such as bullying - and some they won't (hopefully) like a kidnapping (gasp!)
Monstrie's journey leads him to begin trusting his own instincts and believing in himself.
We loved the characters in this, with a touch of Dr Seuss-like genius, fused with the unique "long format" that's quite unusual in children's picture book publishing. Dig in and you'll be rewarded with a brilliant little story about being yourself, and being happy in the skin you're in.
"Little Monstrie's Big Adventures" by Maria Kabanova and Margarita Grezina is out now, published by Interface Publishing (kindly supplied for review).