This is the last TOP READS post for 2016! At the end of each month — from February to November — our Top Reads team recommends their favourite reading material from the previous month. This year we’ve had audiobooks, graphic novels, novels, cookbooks, comics, and nonfiction titles. All great reads with a tick of approval from kids just like you! A big thank you to everyone on our team for this year*, we’ve loved seeing your recommendations. (We’ll be back in February to introduce our 2017 team.)

So, without further ado — here is the final collection for this year. Add these to your Christmas wishlist or duck into a library and stock up for some great holiday reading …

You’ll find a recommended list from our Top Reads Team on the last day of every month (February to November). You can check out all the Top Reads posts for 2016 here.

*All our Top Readers are kids aged 13 and under. No grownups allowed!

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THE CUTE MONSTER

by Elle, 10, New York, USA

Lily woke up one morning to find something strange sitting at the end of her bed. The little monster was so cute that she wanted to care for it every single minute of every day. It was pink with purple ears and blue eyes that sparkled. It had little green spikes along its tiny pink tail. It was one-foot-long including its tail. It was really small. When she said, “Hello,” it squeaked like it was saying hello back. Lily wanted to tell her mum, but she knew she would say she couldn’t keep it. She asked her mum anyway. To her amazement, her mum said she could keep it and asked, “Where did it come from?”

She said, “The monster told me it came from Harmless Cute Monster Land.”

Her mum said, “How do you understand it, Lily?”

“Mum, I never told you this, but I can understand the animal language. Every child in the world named Lily has a power. And I was born with the power to understand animals and creatures that don’t speak human languages. I also feel very happy that I have this power!”

“I’m glad you understand animals because I’m going to open a zoo,” said Mom.

At breakfast, they ate eggs, bacon, cereal, and orange juice, and talked about what Lily was going to do at school. After breakfast, Lily got ready and left for school. She had many friends named Lily, too.

They came over to her desk and asked her, “Did you tell your mum about your powers?”

Lily answered, “Yes, I did.”

Her friends asked, “When?”

Lily answered, “This morning.”

Her friends all said together, “That’s so funny, we did too!!”

Lily jumped up and down and did cartwheels everywhere! She was so excited about the coincidence. They all went back to their desks because class was about to start.

Later that day, all the Lilys sat together at lunch. The first one to talk was Lily. “My mom told me this morning that she is planning to make a zoo. And I was wondering if you would help me make it.”

“Sure,” said all the Lilys together.

“Can you meet me at my house after school today?” They agreed.

In the evening, all the Lilys came over Lily’s house and she introduced them to her mum. She said, “Mum, these are all my Lily friends. I’m going to introduce them to you.

“Here are Lily A, Lily B, Lily C, Lily D, Lily E, Lily F, Lily G, and Lily H.”

“I’m really surprised that the only friends you have are named Lily,” said her mum.

“These are just my Lily friends. I have other friends that are not named Lily.”

“What are you guys all doing here?” asked the mum.

“They’re here to help me make the zoo, because they have powers too.”

The girls made a blueprint. They developed houses for the animals with special compartments to deliver food and water, and bought supplies from the hardware store to start building. Her amazing, billionaire mum bought everything. She was the head of every job in their town and also the CEO of Everything in the World.

On the tenth day, Lily was on her way to the exotic, wild animal pet store. The pet store only sold wild animals, and she asked if she could buy two of every animal. On her way home, she rode on a galloping hippo and tumbled off its back! She called her mum to pick her up because the hippo then ran away.

Her mum picked her up five minutes later with a 10-foot high limousine. It was so tall because they had to fit two giraffes and many wild animals. They started building the zoo. Lily H made the structure. Lily G put in the glass. Lily F put natural materials in the cages. Lily E put in the animal toys in the cages. Lily D laid the bricks. Lily C made all of the signs for the building. Lily B made the habitat scenes on the brick walls. Lily and Lily put the animals in after everything was done. They made an extra compartment for the little cute monster. They opened it a week later after they painted the outside in bright colors. The zoo was a success!

After the zoo opened, everyone went to the new Lily zoo instead of the typical, old zoo. They liked the new zoo’s animals, especially the cute monster. The monster told Lily that it liked all the attention.

She said, “I’m glad you do.”

At the end of the day, everyone had a party at Lily H’s house with lots of different food and drinks. They danced and danced and the party lasted for eight years!

This is Elle’s first story published with Alphabet Soup. If YOU would like to send us a story, drawing, poem, or book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy writing!