Minneapolis Simpkin is a little girl who desperately wants a pet, and her mom knows it. As Minn dashes out the door to play, mom yells "Not even a tadpole!"

Outside she finds and adopts a baby monster. Minn reasons that Mom never told her she couldn't have a monster, so she brings it home.

At dinner she has lots of questions: What do monsters eat? Where do they live?

Mom, thinking its just a game, plays along.

Soon things get out of hand and Minn is cleaning up all sorts of messes and certainly getting more than she bargained.

Written by Peggy Parish, "No More Monsters for Me!" was published in 1981 as "An I Can Read Book." The edition I found at the library is beaten up and has a time-dulled cover.

But inside, I was thrilled with the art by Marc Simont. Using only black, green and magenta pallete, it offers some great scenes despite the limited color.

Most impressive is Simonts line work. Though it's a simple scene, I really love his image of Minn and Mom reacting to a loud "CRASH!" in the basement.

 "No More Monsters for Me!" is indeed still in print so don't hesitate ordering it, but you also might be able to find a beat-up copy in your library.

And if you do either, you're kids will get more than they bargained for — just like Minneapolis Simpkin does.

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins

YEAR: 1981

AUTHOR: Margaret Parish

ARTIST: Marc Simont

TOUGHEST WORDS: Minneapolis, basement, something

DENSITY OF TEXT: Light to medium

COMIC BOOK-NESS: No speech ballons, but Simont's style is decidedly comic-book friendly.

WOULD IT BE A GOOD MOVIE? There's potential, but it might be a little too much of a one-note gimmick.

THEMES: Pets, monsters, bargains