THE WANTING MONSTER - Susan Kay Phillips

by Martine Murray Illustrated by Anna Read

Reviewed by Susan Kay Phillips

This unique children’s picture book, The Wanting Monster, illuminates some dark corners we humans share straight on and offers an astonishingly beautiful solution. This is a timely modern fable presented in a very child accessible way.

The story begins as the Wanting Monster first approaches a village. He howls and stomps as monsters do, but no one notices. Not even the ants notice him. Shamed and infuriated, the Wanting Monster strikes upon a plan. With all his sneaky craft, he whispers in the ear of a man dozing beside a stream. When the man awakens, the prickly, niggling thought from the Wanting Monster leads him to the idea that he should have his own water, a pool in his yard, so he will not have to go to the water. The water will be his. He builds his pool taking water from the stream. Other villagers envy the man’s pool and construct their own. Billie Ray, the youngest child in the village, soon discovers that the stream has dried up. The water and the fish and the frogs are all gone.

“Now the Wanting Monster felt properly monstrous, for it had caused all sorts of strife”. What other trouble could he imagine?

Now he whispers to people in the fields collecting flowers for their neighbors. The thought he plants in their ears gives them the idea they want all the flowers for themselves. The flowers in the fields quickly disappear as villagers hurry to claim them for their own. The butterflies, moths, beetles, and other bugs have no home. Soon they are gone too.

His plan is working! The Wanting Monster now whispers in the ear of a man gazing at the wondrous stars. The prickly thought from the Wanting Monster leads the man to want a star of his own to keep in his drawer at home. The man chops down trees, builds a ladder, climbs up to the nearest star, and brings it down to keep. Other villagers copy his work until the night sky is dark. The brilliant stars are all stolen.

Now the once vibrant village is gloomy and sad. The water is gone, the birds and the frogs and the fish and the bugs are gone. There are no more flowers or stars at night. The village children begin to cry. The villagers realize they can no longer live in their home village. They have no water and the beauty and joy of the flowers and trees and night stars are gone. They have destroyed their home by wanting more and more.They pack their bags to leave.

The Wanting Monster is jubilant. He marches into the village and roars with laughter. He has won! He has destroyed the village. He is powerful. The villagers hear his laughter but only Billie Ray can see him.

“It’s wanting monster”, she tells everyone. This is the tipping point in the fable. What will be done? Can the village be saved and how?

The solution that Murray offers is psychologically and spiritually brilliant, fitting seamlessly into the story. Billie Ray knows what to do. She knows what the monster really wants for himself, love. She accomplishes her goal with grace that will touch your heart.

Children will be able to easily understand the arc of this story. While reading the story there will be many opportunities to discuss the wanting mind, its consequences and antidote. There is a lot of emotional intelligence available here.

Read’s artwork harmonizes perfectly. The Wanting Monster is appropriately scary, but not excessively so. In spite of his “monstrous “appearance, Read’s rendering of the Wanting Monster shows a certain vulnerability that only Billie Ray fully understands.

Reviewer’s Note

Certainly, this story is timely. I think most people would agree that there is widespread evidence of human greed, and the consequences today, in the activities of people and governments. What is not as widely discussed is the antidote. Murray’s story presents an antidote to unchecked greed that is transformative and much needed. Can we reach this high? I personally believe that we can and firmly believe that this story can help illuminate how gracefully and kindly human beings can behave in facing the consequences of greed.

Martine Murray is an Australian author known well for her children’s books and other writing. Anna Read is also Australian. This collaboration of theirs is very powerful. It will be interesting to see if they continue to work together on other projects.

As always, thank you for reading!

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