Monsters in the Fog

Bahrampour

U.S. $18.99 CANADA $23.99 U.K. £13.99

grew up in Tehran, Iran, and the United States. He was a 20II recipient of the Sendak Fellowship for picture book artists. He lives in New York City.

Don’t miss A Pig in the Palace

Hakim is traveling up the mountain to visit his friend Daisy, but the fog is so thick that he can’t see the road ahead.

Then an old goat appears out of nowhere

A Junior Library Guild Selection

and delivers a sinister warning:

“A royally silly story of how sometimes

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when everything seems to be going wrong, it’s actually just right.”

-Publishers Weekly

“BEWARE! BEWARE! THERE ARE MONSTERS UP THERE!” On Hakim trots with caution, until he hears an awful groan, growing closer

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and closer. And out of the mist comes the

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strangest creature Hakim has ever seen . . .

JACKET ILLUSTRATIONS © 2022 ALI BAHRAMPOUR

Is Hakim doomed? Or are things

JACKET DESIGN BY HEATHER KELLY JACKET © 2022 ABRAMS BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

not always what they seem? In this clever story about first impressions, Ali

U.S. $18.99 Can. $23.99 U.K. £13.99 ISBN 978-1-4197-5245-2

PRINTED IN CHINA

ABRAMS

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Bahrampour reminds us that everyone looks like a monster in the fog—until you get closer.

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Ali Bahrampour

Abrams Books for Young Readers New York

For Lucia

The illustrations for this book were made with pen and ink and watercolor.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-4197-5245-2 Text and illustrations © 2022 Ali Bahrampour Book design by Heather Kelly Published in 2022 by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Printed and bound in China 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Abrams Books for Young Readers are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also

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It’s hard to knit a sweater with your hooves, but Hakim somehow did it.

It was a present for his friend Daisy, who lived on top of the mountain.

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He packed the sweater in his saddlebag.

“She’ll love it,” he thought. “It gets cold up there.”

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It was a foggy morning.

Hakim could barely see the end of his nose.

“Where are you headed?” asked an old goat who appeared out of nowhere.

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“Up the mountain,” Hakim said.

“Don’t do it!” cried the goat. “There are monsters up there!”

“There are no monsters,” Hakim said.

“Beware!” yelled the goat. “Beware! Beware!”

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“Have a good day,” said Hakim.

“You’re doomed!” the old goat bleated.

Hakim had never seen a fog this thick.

“I can’t let it stop me,” he said.

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And on he trotted.

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Then he heard an awful groan. It was getting closer and closer.

Maybe that old goat was right.

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Out of the mist came the strangest creature Hakim had ever seen.

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But as he got closer, he saw it was only a dog carrying a board and a pile of bricks on her head.

“Help,” groaned the dog. “I can’t go on.”

“Where are you headed?” Hakim asked.

“Over the mountain to fix up my house,” said the dog.

“Put the bricks in my bag,” said Hakim. “I’ll bring them to the top, and then it’ll be easy for you to carry them down.”

“Much obliged,” said the dog.

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The higher they climbed, the thicker the fog got.

“What’s that?” yelped the dog.

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Hakim had no idea. It looked like a giant bug wiggling its many arms.

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But as they got closer, they saw a pig with umbrellas in his backpack.

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“Help!” said the pig. “I’m lost in the fog. I need to bring these umbrellas to sell on the other side of the mountain.”

“We’re headed the same way,” said Hakim. “Come with us.”

“I can’t see a thing,” said the pig.

“What’s that up there?” asked the dog.

Hakim couldn’t speak. A giant screaming skull was heading right toward them.

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But it was only a bear on a runaway tricycle.

“I can’t stop!” the bear yelled.

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A rock helped her out.

“I need to get my brakes fixed,” said the bear.

“I’m going over the mountain to the tricycle repair shop.”

Hakim told the bear to put her tricycle in the saddlebag and join them.

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The climb became so tricky that the animals asked Hakim if they could ride on his back.

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“I’m scared,” said the pig.

“We’re doomed,” said the dog.

“What if there are monsters?” asked the bear.

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“Don’t worry,” said Hakim.

“Everything looks like a monster in the fog.”

Suddenly they heard a loud scream and saw what looked like a—

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“That’s not a monster,” said Hakim. “That’s my friend Daisy!”

“Hakim!” said Daisy. “Is that you?”

“That’s your friend?” asked the dog.

“Yes,” said Hakim. “This is Daisy.”

“But why were you screaming?” the pig asked Daisy.

“You all looked like a monster in the fog,” Daisy explained. “I got scared.”

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“Everything looks like a monster in the fog,” said Hakim.

“But the closer you get, the less scary it becomes.”

The sun came out and burned away the fog.

The dog and the pig and the bear said goodbye and headed down the mountain.

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Daisy loved her sweater.

It was a perfect fit.