Marisol McDonald loves the letter M and almost everything beginning with that letter, except the monster that lives under her bed. Every night she wakes her family when she hears it. They try to convince her there’s no such thing as a monster, while Marisol tries to conquer her fears by making a stuffed toy monster. But she still hears the bumps in the night. On the night everyone else finally hears them, too, an investigation reveals the amusing source (though sharp-eyed readers and listeners may have already figured it out). Marisol has an Anglo father and a Latina mother. The inclusion of Spanish words in the English text and English words in the Spanish text is natural and fluid. The mixed-media illustrations show Marisol as brown-skinned like her mother and red-haired like her father in this pleasing story. (Ages 4–7)

Bilingual English/Spanish. Free-spirited Marisol confronts her fear of monsters and unfamiliar nighttime noises.

Marisol McDonald loves words that begin with the letter m-except the word monster. Monsters are scary, with big eyes, wild fur, pointy claws, and sharp teeth. One night, when Marisol hears loud bumps under her bed, she is immediately convinced that a monster is making the noise. Checking under the bed does not reveal a monster, but night after night, the bumps continue. When the bumps become especially loud one night, Marisol bravely leads the charge downstairs to find the cause. Turns out the monster making noise under Marisol's bed does have eyes and fur and teeth, but it isn't scary at all. It's her dog, Kitty, playing ball against the kitchen wall.

Monica Brown and Sara Palacios once again bring Marisol McDonald to life. With her orange-red hair, golden-brown skin, and endearing individuality, Peruvian-Scottish-American Marisol learns to face her fears in this empowering story of harnessing the imagination and conquering nighttime monsters.