The stories are international folktales -- three, I think, European, one being Irish, and two Asian, one Chinese and one Japanese. In all of them the scary monsters are thoroughly defeated brave though not especially warlike humans. The tone is light and amusing. The illustration are rather in the style of Sendak;'s Where the Wild Things Are --the monsters tend to be soft and fuzzy looking, aside from a giant fish. The pictures add a great deal to the stories. ( )