The Monster Story

I have now self-published this poem as a beautifully illustrated children’s book. You can purchase a copy at Lulu.com.

Thursdays are fast becoming one of my favourite days, not least because it means I get an opportunity to link up with VicWelton’s #Prose4T. I have always enjoyed writing poetry, but have not done so for many years. Recently I have found I can express so much in poetry, and often find it easier to write a poem than a blog post!

Today I am going to share something with you that I wrote a while ago and have tweaked many, many times! Finally I think it’s finished! It’s based on a poem I wrote when I first started blogging, and is a book aimed at children whose mums suffer from depression. I have often noticed in libraries and shops that there are a range of books written to help children cope with different situations; bereavement, the death of a pet, moving house, new babies and even potty training, but there was nothing which focused on depression or post natal depression. Ultimately I would love this poem to be published and money from it raised to help those with PND, but I know that could forever remain a dream, it is not easy to get published! I have read the book to my eldest two children and the reaction was instantaneous, my four year old now often asks for the monster story before bed, and my 11 year old understands a bit more about how I was feeling, it’s prompted some lovely, honest chats.

So, here is the story, please let me know what you think xx

A Monster Ate My Mum
By InstinctiveMum

A monster wandered far and wide,
No one walking by his side,
His mum seemed lost, not the mum he knew,
Would someone know just what to do?

She’d not been like herself at all,
Crying lots and feeling small,
Not wanting to go out, get dressed,
Feeling trapped and like a mess.

A monster must have gobbled her up,
Made her sad and feel unloved,
A monster must have eaten her joy,
“I’ll go and find it,” said the monster boy.

He found a monster big and tall,
A grumpy monster with no friends at all,
A monster that ate smiles and joy,
‘Did he eat my mum?’ thought this monster boy.

“Excuse me, but have you eaten my mum?
I want her back I want some fun,
I want to see her smile, my mum,
Is she in your big, round tum?”

“No she’s not here I just ate her smile,
I’ll give it back after a while,
I’m sorry I was hungry you see,
I don’t know where your mum could be.”

So the monster boy wandered on,
Knowing where his mum’s smile had gone,
He found another scary beast,
And wondered if he’d had a feast.

“Excuse me, but have you eaten my mum?
I want her back I want some fun,
I want to see her smile my mum,
Is she in your big, round tum?”

“No I just ate something that made her cry,
She won’t know how, she won’t know why,
I’m sorry I was hungry you see,
I don’t know where your mum could be.”

He wondered on and soon he knew,
That it wasn’t his fault, nothing he could do,
The monsters had eaten what made her happy,
It wasn’t him who made her snappy.

He carried on walking along the path,
Wondering who had eaten her laugh,
He saw a monster asleep on his tum,
Was he the one who had eaten his mum?

“Excuse me, but have you eaten my mum?
I want her back I want some fun,
I want to see her smile, my mum,
Is she in your big round tum?”

“No I just ate something that took her spark,
She can have it back, not feel in the dark,
I’m sorry I ate it, I was hungry you see,
I don’t know where your mum could be.”

All of these monsters had had their fill,
They had each been what had made his mum ill,
He wanted a cure to make her well,
He wanted to help her out of this spell.

He found a wise monster among the trees,
“Could you help me and my mum please?
She’s not been happy, she sleeps all day,
Can you help in any way?”

The monster turned and said to the boy,
“Those monsters will return her joy,
The monsters will return your mum,
She will be back you will have fun.”

“Time is what you need my friend,
Love and kisses and cuddles send.
It won’t be bad like this forever,
She can and will one day get better.”

So the monster boy walked home and knew,
He would be patient, see this through.
He’d rest his head upon her tum,
Hoped no more monsters would eat his mum.

Support independent publishing: Buy this book on Lulu.

26 Comments on The Monster Story

  1. Notmyyearoff
    May 2, 2013 at 8:23 am (11 years ago)

    Ahhhh this is lovely, really well written!

    Reply
  2. judithkingston
    May 2, 2013 at 9:28 am (11 years ago)

    I think you could have a good chance of getting this published – children’s book publishers are always looking for new picture books. Do you have any artistic friends who could illustrate this? If you make it into a proper manuscript I think it would really be worth sending off, esp as it is such an important topic. You’ve done your market research already and seen there is a gap for it!

    Reply
    • InstinctiveMum
      May 2, 2013 at 10:19 am (11 years ago)

      Wow really? I do have a friend who could illustrate, she’s amazingly talented! Have also looked at a few publishers and many just want the words, not pictures. I just need to pluck up the courage and write the covering letter to go with the manuscript, which appears to be more important than the story itself! Thank you for reading 🙂

      Reply
  3. The Mummy Scripts
    May 2, 2013 at 12:38 pm (11 years ago)

    So lovely and I think it speaks to so many situations as well as PND so the potential audience is huge. I think you should definitely go for it with getting it published – trust your instincts!! 😉 xx

    Reply
    • InstinctiveMum
      May 2, 2013 at 5:18 pm (11 years ago)

      Thank you so much, I will definitely look into getting it published…I just don’t know where to start!! xx

      Reply
      • The Mummy Scripts
        May 2, 2013 at 5:24 pm (11 years ago)

        Why don’t you get in touch with BritMums or Tots100 and ask their advice? xx

        Reply
        • InstinctiveMum
          May 2, 2013 at 5:30 pm (11 years ago)

          Ooo yes good idea! I’m hoping to meet with the publishers at Britmums live this year, which could be good!?!

          Reply
  4. Charlie Hughes (The Mad Mummy Musings)
    May 2, 2013 at 1:47 pm (11 years ago)

    I just love this poem. It has a bit of The Gruffalo about it :0) So beautifully written. You could self publish you know. Easier than you think. I’d definitely look into getting you poems published – you have a real talent xx

    Reply
  5. Helen Braid
    May 2, 2013 at 8:04 pm (11 years ago)

    I think this is brilliant. I think it is very approachable for children and I think there is undoubtedly a market for it. I wish you the very, very best of luck xx

    Reply
  6. Jaime Oliver
    May 2, 2013 at 8:21 pm (11 years ago)

    fantastic honey, just fab xx

    Reply
  7. Verily Victoria Vocalises
    May 3, 2013 at 1:14 pm (11 years ago)

    This is absolutely and utterly brilliant. I love it and can really see it as an illustrated, childrens book on such an important subject. Ross and I are trying to put something together on this and will keep you in mind. Thank you so much for linking this amazing piece of poetry up to Prose For Thought xx

    Reply
    • InstinctiveMum
      May 5, 2013 at 7:25 pm (11 years ago)

      Please do keep me in mind! Thank you xx

      Reply
    • InstinctiveMum
      May 9, 2013 at 7:26 pm (11 years ago)

      Ah why thank you! Will have a look properly tomorrow! 😉

      Reply
  8. suzanne3childrenandit
    October 4, 2013 at 5:16 pm (10 years ago)

    What a wonderful piece of creativity – you’re a genius! I love the idea of using it to help children, PND is such a common thing these days but somehow still taboo – why? Well done x

    Reply
    • instinctivemum
      October 5, 2013 at 10:27 am (10 years ago)

      Oh thank you so much! Helen braid has done the most fabulous illustrations for the book, hopefully I can self publish it and help families very soon! X

      Reply
  9. drfinwilliams
    October 11, 2013 at 6:44 am (10 years ago)

    This will be a really beautiful book for children. Often, in connecting with our children, they want to hear that you understand how the experience has been for them. That you can name their feelings and give them that opportunity to feel empathy. You’ve obviously been absolutely attuned to their experience – it’s why they’ve asked you to read it again and again. It represents their shared experience with you – much like a photo album.

    Books like this are invaluable to children – i’ll look forward to seeing it released.

    Reply

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