I really enjoyed this book because it showed two different cultures but it showed how similar they are. For example, Elmo went to Angela's house, in a blue neighborhood, and he compared the red and blue customs and cultures. I forgot Elmo talks in third person so it took a little bit for me to stop being annoyed by that and to enjoy the book. In the end color didn't matter because they realized they all are the same even though they are from different places. I love how the moms accepted the children's friendship and they were also friends. At the end they all hung out and it was fine.
The overall message of the book is that even though people come from different backgrounds, may have different skin, we are alike in some way and should not judge based on the visual differences. ( )

This book does an excellent job of addressing the differences between people and how to accept them. Angela lives on a street where only blue monsters live, and her brother had preconceived notions about red monsters, like Elmo: "So you red monsters like a lot of the same stuff we blue monsters do, huh?...I thought all red monsters liked to was, you know, red-monster food." Elmo quickly and pleasantly tells him that red monsters like many different kinds of food. Then, Angela goes to Elmo's house the next day, and she is much more uncomfortable because she has been around mostly blue monsters, so the amount of red monsters in her house makes her nervous. Some members of Elmo's family had preconceived notions as well, but they embrace her openly, just as Angela's family embraced Elmo. Angela even gets to see that Elmo's friends are many colors and sizes, and she ends up having a ton of fun with them. This book shows children that it is okay to be uncomfortable with things we are not familiar with at first, but we should be open to meeting them and learning about them, which is the big idea of this book. This book is simple and clear and gets its point across perfectly. ( )