Harriet the Spy vs The Monster at the End of This Book: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Juvenile works, Juvenile audience, Classics, Fiction

Harriet the Spy Louise Fitzhugh · 1960 ★★★★☆ 4.0 305 pages · ≈ 5 h 39 m · Moderate

“Harriet was trying to explain to Sport how to play town.”

Harriet the Spy is a children's novel written and illustrated by Louise Fitzhugh that was published in 1964. It has been called "a milestone in children's literature" and a "classic". In the U.S. it ranked number 12 in…

1 film adaptation

Girls & Women School Stories Spy Fiction Schools

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Cover of The Monster at the End of This Book

The Monster at the End of This Book Jon Stone · 1971 ★★★★☆ 4.5 24 pages · ≈ 27 min · Light

Is there a monster at the end of this book? Lovable, furry old Grover believes that there is, and he will try anything to stop you from turning the pages to find him! The Monster at the End of This Book, the bestselling…

Puppets Children's Books Monsters Humorous stories

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate The Monster at the End of This Book highest: The Monster at the End of This Book 4.5 · Harriet the Spy 4.0.
The Monster at the End of This Book is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 5 for Harriet the Spy.
The Monster at the End of This Book has the widest readership — 127686 ratings behind its score.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? The Monster at the End of This Book ≈ 1h vs 5h for Harriet the Spy Just want the better-reviewed one? The Monster at the End of This Book 4.5 vs 4.0 from readers New to the genre? The Monster at the End of This Book Light vs Moderate for Harriet the Spy

Scores by source

	Harriet the Spy	The Monster at the End of This Book
Goodreads	4.0 (101232)	4.5 (127686)
Hardcover	4.0 (3)	4.5 (135)
Google Books	—	5.0 (2)
Apple Books	4.0 (99)	4.5 (1288)

Reception

	Harriet the Spy	The Monster at the End of This Book
Ratings	101232	127686
Editions	63	15
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	31451	22775
Reading it now	1512	310
Written reviews	3270	3633
Wikipedia attention	3972	1642
Pages	305	24

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Harriet the Spy or The Monster at the End of This Book?

The Monster at the End of This Book has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Monster at the End of This Book 4.5/5, Harriet the Spy 4.0/5).

Which is shorter to read: Harriet the Spy or The Monster at the End of This Book?

The Monster at the End of This Book is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Monster at the End of This Book (24 pages, ≈ 27 min); Harriet the Spy (305 pages, ≈ 5 h 39 m).

Which is harder to read: Harriet the Spy or The Monster at the End of This Book?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Harriet the Spy: Moderate; The Monster at the End of This Book: Light.

Have both books been made into films?

Harriet the Spy: 2 film adaptations; The Monster at the End of This Book: no film adaptation on record.