Go Away, Big Green Monster! Review

Go Away, Big Green Monster! for iPad brings the classic children’s book of the same name by Ed Emberley written to help kids overcome common childhood fears.

When I first heard about this beloved book, I was very curious to see how this interestingly designed book would translate to an application. My son and I know this title well, as my son enjoyes the creative cutouts found on every page.

The printed version of the book is diecut, with the overlapping of these pages brilliantly creating a scary monster face by adding facial and other features page by page, uncovering such characteristics as big yellow eyes, a long bluish nose, and a red mouth with sharp white teeth. Once the monster is fully created, the monster is then deconstructed page by page as well, as these cutouts are removed one by one, now uncovering the colored background that would make up the various features when the previous cutout was laid over the colored page in question.

Not only is this visually very impressive, but the text used throughout this book is quite thoughtful as well, as once this monster is fully introduced, the text proclaims, “You don’t scare me!" and proceeds to call out each feature as it is removed with the turn of each page, demanding that each of these features to "Go Away" and ultimately telling the monster to “Don’t come back...Until I say so.”

My son really enjoys this book and has for quite some time. He loves to stick his fingers in the monster’s eye sockets created by these cutouts in picking up this book, as well as touching the cut-out areas of each page.

This app is a faithful adaptation of the look and text of this book, but it is very hard to recreate the magic that the diecut process has created. I have always loved the use of negative space found within the pages of this book, as well as the bold color choices used and how these colors become full page backgrounds when the previous page's cut-out demarcation lines of each feature is taken away. When this app begins to remove the parts of the monster, the background here changes to the appropriate color, but for me some of the magic is lost, and I don’t know if children unfamiliar with this book would fully understand the use that these colored backgrounds had in the original story.

Although this app is lacking the tactile feel that the original book has, this app has come up with some delightful ways of making this a new, different experience from the classic book. In this application, the features of this monster are wonderfully animated and move with a tap of a finger in a way that really makes this monster come to life, and I appreciate how the eyes will move on their own, looking around the page, having a life of their own as well - no touching required.

There are some wonderful options offered within this app for narration as well. One can choose to hear this book read by Ed Emberley himself, a real treat as his delivery is wonderful, earnest, and perfectly intense for this story about sending away a scary creature. One can also listen to this book read by a four year old child, creating an experience that is cute and fun, toning down the possibly scariness that small children may find in this book. One can read this book to oneself as well, but the most creative option here is the animated experience, complete with a jazzy rendition of this text, wonderfully composed and sung by Emberely’s granddaughter, Adrian Carney. Also enjoy a special surprise at the end of this app, as an interactive element is offered where one can use a flashlight to find the monster, complete with a new full body as well as an animal friend - a nice touch.

It may be worth noting that some critics of this original book express concerns about this book being scary for children, instead of empowering them to overcome fears about monsters. This thought never occurred to me personally, as my son loved this book from a young age, but I mention this because the animated features, although great fun and a wonderful modern inclusion, may be scary for some as these effects truly make this monster look very real indeed.

Purists of the original book could potentially be disappointed by this adaptation for devices, but the experience, although different from that found in the classic book, is really creative and enjoyable, especially the animated section and the included jazz music - a section that simply made me smile.

This app would make a nice Halloween choice for the right child, but this app transcends this holiday as it will likely become a favorite all year round.