There’s a monster under my bed who changes like a chameleon. He can be motionless like a rock with a tail, or he can strike with blinding speed, like a lightning bolt with claws. My monster’s name is Moofy. His ears are as pointy as tortilla chips. His tongue is as pink as bubblegum, and his teeth are as sharp as swords. By day, Moofy is a fur rug in the sunshine. By night, he’s a pair of glowing headlights in the darkness.
With those opening lines, we’ve already encountered similes using like, similes using as, and metaphors.
Personifications, idioms, hyperboles, allusions, and much more lie ahead. But this isn’t a writing guide, it’s a picture book story about a little monster who oozes personality. The first pages leave us guessing, but kids will soon figure out, to their delight, that Moofy’s a cat. And what else could this furball of mischief be?
Fun is the order of the day, but an unobtrusive banner on each page lets interested readers know which figure of speech is being featured. This is a book a young reader and future writer can grow with.