Emotional Intelligence

The Wanting Monster by Martine Murray, illustrated by Anna Read, is a modern fable illustrating the disastrous consequences of unchecked wanting.

The Wanting Monster is furious that he is initially ignored by everyone in the village he has approached. He devises a clever plan to plant ideas of wanting more and more in the minds of the adults in the village.

His plan succeeds, resulting in a devastation of the village by unchecked appropriation of resources by the villagers. The villagers must now leave their uninhabitable home.

As they are leaving, the Wanting Monster is laughing and exulting in his success. Everyone can hear him, but only Billie Ray, the youngest child in the village, can see him.

“It’s a wanting monster”, she announces. Then Billy Ray proceeds to brilliantly expose what has been needed all along to heal the Wanting Monster and the village, love and kindness.

A highly recommended journey toward greater emotional intelligence.