Bunso Meets a Mumu (Bunso Meets…, Bk. 1)

A fantastic entry into the kid-and-monster-friendship subgenre.

A child encounters a creature from Filipino folklore and makes a surprising new discovery in author/illustrator Valdez’s picture-book debut.

Bunso (whose name is a Tagalog word for a family’s youngest sibling) is scared of the stories that his sister, or Ate, tells him about a creature called the Mumu, who “likes to punish kids who misbehave by sucking the fun outta everything!” Mom, Dad, and Bunso’s Kuya (brother) scold him for drawing on the walls, not eating dinner, and playing Kuya’s video games without permission; all say that the Mumu will get him. Bunso decides to try to defeat the Mumu; he does research and prepares equipment to confront it. But when Bunso traps the Mumu, it turns out to be an adorable ghost who wants a friend and another shot at enjoying life.