Elizabeth Spurr

Illustrations and rhyming text reveal the terrible ways monsters may behave in one's home, on crowded sidewalks, on a bus, or at school as they do what they wish without thinking of others.

Rhymed descriptions of life on a farm introduce basic colors and the numbers one to ten.

As the eccentric Peterkin family sits down to Thanksgiving dinner, they learn that their turkey and the rest of the food has become stuck in the dumbwaiter.

Three children grow up with their hard-working mother's stories about her rich uncle back in Mexico, but when they save money for a visit, they learn a surprising truth.

Their usual silliness reigns as the eccentric Peterkin family prepares for Christmas.