“I was scared by shadows on the wall of my bedroom and I had to be brave enough to get out of bed and turn on the light. I hope that this idea of being able to think about something other than what you are scared of might help lower the emotion of fear and help you to be brave,” Heather Millard states. “Moonlight Monsters” (published by AuthorHouse) tells the story of Alexander, a boy who is around 8 years old and sees scary shadows on his wall which frightens him so much that he believes the shadows to be monsters. The shadows are called, Jangles, Mozzarella, Daisy, and Ritzi.
They have come from the office of shadows with the job of helping children find out how brave they can be. Alexander decides to give them his chocolate chip cookie and even though he is so scared, he confronts them and tells them to share it. Alexander then discovers that he can be brave even when he is afraid. “Children have vivid imaginations and can create fearful situations where perhaps none exist. They need to know that in spite of the feelings of being frightened, they can rise above it and find out that they can choose their thoughts and choose what they wish to think,” Millard says.' When asked what she wants readers to take away from the book, Millard answers, “My hopes are that this story will give a child the realization that they can experience a happy thought at the same time as being scared.”