The Wanting Monster

(Hardback)

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From award-winning author Martine Murray (dubbed Australias Kate DiCamillo) and painter Anna Read comes a timeless and timely tale about the monstrousness of envy, and every creatureseven a monstersneed for love

It starts with a whisper in your ear. A prickly feeling that something isnt quite right. And it builds until a sneaky, possessive thought wriggles into your mind, and an insidious want burrows into your heart. Before you know it, youre discontent, convinced that youre owed more than what youve got. This is the work of the Wanting Monster.

One day, the Wanting Monster arrives in a small village, but no one notices him, despite his antics. Feeling snubbed, he starts sowing discontent and envy of ones neighbor. So infectious is the wanting and greed awakened by the Wanting Monster that even the stars are plucked, one by one, from the sky. Covetousness and distrust reign. Will the village people ever return to their senses Will they ever learn that its the monster of wanting thats been poisoning their minds The Wanting Monster almost triumphs . . . Fortunately, he is finally seen for what he is, and this recognition unleashes the purifying force of collective lamentation and a coming together to reroot and rebuild.

Reviews

This fable teases out the difference between wants and needs and illustrates how excessive desire can lead to heartache. Reads folkloric art has an ominous quality to it, with skies filled with gray, purple, and black swirls evoking the current climate disaster... An atmospheric musing on the perils of avarice. * Kirkus Reviews *

Author Bio

Martine Murray is an acclaimed Australian author and illustrator whose work has been translated into more than 20 different languages. Her first novel, The Slightly True Story of Cedar B Hartley, was selected for the White Ravens list of outstanding international childrens books and was one of the New York Public Librarys 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing and a Book Sense 76 Childrens Pick. Anna Luisa Read is an Australian artist whose work spans painting, ceramics, music, theater, and garden design. Always deeply committed to and informed by her connection to the natural world, Anna was a co-founder of Studio Su in Castlemaine, a ceramic gallery space. She is also the co-founder of Parachute Press, a small independent publisher. Anna resides in Campbells Creek, a little town on the edge of Castlemaine in central Victoria.