The More Monster
Hayley Wells
Pavilion Books

This allegorical tale about greed and over consumption will likely ring alarm bells with many readers.
It’s set on a small island ruled by an enormous monster who has an insatiable appetite for more of everything. To that end he has hundreds of islanders toiling at machines night and day endeavouring to keep pace with his never-ending demands for the new, improved, the latest, most fashionable, must-have things, all of which he gobbles voraciously as soon as his workers have produced them. There’s no end to their labours – or is there?

There comes a day when, seemingly unfazed by those threatened ‘consequences’ for non-fulfilment of the daily quota, one small islander begins to question things. Hurrah! Somebody that thinks for herself and not satisfied with the answers her workmates proffer, is prepared to look for answers to her ‘what if … ?’ question.
Her search takes her to a very scary place – the monster’s innards and therein she discovers something amazing: unbeknown to anyone the greedy monster is a machine.
The answer seeker is overwhelmed by the task of setting things right from within,

the result being a rampaging monster that gobbles all the workers. Is this the end for the islanders?

Happily not, for they possess a wealth of practical knowledge when it comes to machines and from within they successfully pull off a collaborative reprogramming operation.

Thereafter, it’s time for operation repair, a fair redistribution of the monster’s hoard and the creation of a new world order that works for everyone. Total revolution? Hmmm! make sure to look carefully at the final scene.

Hayley Wells’ words and playful visuals work wonderfully well together, the result being a truly thought-provoking book that has much to say to people of all ages.