Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this funny, silly, reassuring not bedtime story, bedtime story! Make sure you read Eoin’s piece about why he finally conceded to his young son’s taste for monsters with this scary (but not really) tale.

Get ready for ‘The World’s Scariest Monster’ and his friends to take you on a terrifying nighttime journey. Fluffy ‘Terror’ McFluff is determined that this story will make readers quiver and quake. However, try as he might, his monstrous friends don’t seem convinced by his efforts…

This is such a fun read which begs interaction from its readers/ listeners. Whether it’s joining in with their most terrifying monster noises or trying to spot lurking beasties, little ones will love participating in the adventure.

Despite the title, I think this would make an excellent bedtime story as it is, ultimately, a reassuring tale that nothing is as scary as you think it is – not even monsters under the bed! 3+

THIS IS NOT A SCARY BLOG POST by Eoin McLaughlin.

People say I’m a scaredy-cat, but they’re wrong. 

Cats are much, much, braver than I am. Case in point: they leap from roofs to poo in my garden. I just sit there and watch, even though I own a high pressured garden hose. The truth is, I’m not a ‘scaredy-cat’. The whole phrase is a complete misnomer. I’mactually very afraid of cats. And you should be too. Why?1. Cats have claws. 2. Cats are well connected within the occult community. 3. Cats can basically fly. 4. Cats hold vendettas.

Unfortunately, my two-year-old is neither a scaredy-cat nor scared of cats. In fact, I’m not convinced he has ever experienced fear. A thought that often occurs to me as he sways at the top of the metal steps, blindly leaps from the final rung or flatly refuses to back down from large dogs and irate geese. Hold on a second, where is his fear? 

Which brings us to Halloween. As someone who is much scaredier than a scaredy-cat, I have mixed feelings about it all. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the treats, the neighbourliness and the bobbing for apples. I’m less keen on the tricks, the gore and the movies. 

My son is different. He’s fascinated by monsters at the moment. I don’t think he understands that they grind your bones to make their bread. He just sees them as weird and otherworldly and often quite furry and funny. 

As a concession to his young tastes, I’ve written a book starring The World’s Scariest Monster. It’s the first of my stories that he’s shown any interest in. It’s about a group of monsters who try and tell a story that’s WAY too scary for bedtime, but end up putting themselves to sleep in the process. It’s my kind of scary tale – it’s got haunted houses, creepy caves and deep dark woods, but ultimately it’s really just a snuggly bedtime story. With beautiful illustrations by Robert Starling. A scary book for those of us who prefer books that aren’t actually scary.

For anyone else out there who fears with the same frequency and intensity as I do, I’d like to take a moment to try and put a more positive spin on our bravery deficiency. Next time we tremble inside, imagining what might be lying waiting for us around the corner by the newsagents. Or invent the monsters that lurk behind the recycling bins. Or we conjure up ghouls in the garage. We should remember that being afraid is pretty closely tied to our imaginations. They’re two sides of the same coin. Perhaps being scared of absolutely everything is the price we pay for possessing some kind of IMAGINATION SUPERPOWER. Probably not. But maybe. Who knows.

Anyway, as my son’s imagination develops, he may well become scaredier-than-a-scaredy-cat too. Just like his old man. But this Halloween, for the time being, as much as he would probably like to pretend to be a blood-soaked Dracula or Chupacabra, we shall be dressing him up as The Fat Controller. Much more my cup of tea.

This Book is NOT a Bedtime Story by Eoin McLaughlin, illustrated by Robert Starling, is published by Pavilion Children’s Books, £6.99 paperback. Out now.

The imagination truly is a powerful thing! Thank you Eoin, and thank you to Pavilion Books for sending me this title to review.

Library Girl.