The Story of Growl by Judy Horacek

Growl is an adorable fuzzy grey monster. She lives in a massive castle on a huge tract of land, all by herself. But she’s happy. She growls all day long and on Sundays sings her growl song. The only problem is, she likes to sneak up on her neighbors and scare the pants off of them at tea-time. Well, naturally they are upset. But their Draconian response is to pull strings and get the police to outlaw growling on Growl’s property! The nerve! Needless to say, Growl is heartbroken. She spends all day and all night fretting, worrying, no knowing what to do with herself. But then, while she sits awake pining, she hears a sound from across the fence. Someone is breaking into the neighbors’ house! Without stopping to think, she lets out an enormous GROWL and frightens the robber away. The neighbors recognize that growling has its place, and Growl recognizes that there is a time and a place for growling. Maybe not while your neighbors are having tea.

This book is kind of cute and kind of disturbing. I’m a little put off by the suggestion that police could create laws to keep one neighbor from being annoying is troubling. Beyond that, Growl is adorable, and in the end that’s what matters, right?

Ages 3-5.