• Age: 4 to 7
• Grade: 2 to 12

Someone is stealing from the family’s mango tree! Could it be a mango monster?

After waiting all year for mango season, Marianne is excited that the mangoes on their tree are ripe and ready to eat. She loves mangoes and plans to eat all of them. But when she and her sidekick cousin Zoe check out the tree, the lower branches have been picked clean. Someone is stealing their mangoes! Who could it be?

Marianne’s neighbor says it could be a mango monster. This exciting idea is more than a bit scary, but the girls are not deterred, and they decide to catch the mango monster in the act. They set all kinds of traps, hoping to uncover the thief—and end up with surprising results.

The Mango Monster is a fun, imaginative, and tasty read that encourages sharing with others. Marianne’s powers of deduction and problem-solving skills will delight those who enjoy solving a mystery, and the beautiful artwork will have readers searching for the mango monster in the background of each spread.

Derek Mascarenhas is a graduate of the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies Creative Writing Program, a finalist and runner up for the Penguin Random House of Canada Student Award for Fiction, and a nominee for the Marina Nemat Award. His fiction has been published in places such as Joyland, The Dalhousie Review, Switchback, Maple Tree Literary Supplement, Cosmonauts Avenue, and The Antigonish Review. Derek is one of four children born to parents who emigrated from Goa, India, and settled in Burlington, Ontario. A backpacker who has traveled across six continents, Derek currently resides in Toronto. Coconut Dreams is his first book.

Derek Mascarenhas' profile page

MENEKA REPKA is a Sri Lankan-Canadian illustrator and teacher living in Victoria, British Columbia. The Mango Monster is her first book. Meneka is passionate about children’s art and literature that emphasizes themes of justice and compassion towards humans, animals, and the Earth.

Meneka Repka's profile page

"A pair of resourceful cousins endeavors to trap a mango thief in Mascarenhas’s conversationally told picture book about pitching in for a larger purpose."

Publishers Weekly

"An engaging story that makes this book a perfect choice for teaching prediction, inference, and problem-solving."

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database

"This sweet picture book uses a mango mystery to exemplify teamwork and problem-solving ... A safe choice for the shelves."

School Library Journal