Kids befriending what they fear is--by now--a tried and true trope; this is an effective but not particularly memorable example with a nice chaser in the last couple of pages. The salmon/orangey and hunter green palette is more remarkable, and works well for the monsters in particular but can grow overpowering; the art also works better for the monsters than elsewhere. But my real hangup is that this feels so gendered and militant--the armed conflict approach makes the friendship inversion that much stronger, but it's hard to relate to and has come to feel dated. (I can't imagine kids play with realistic toy guns much these days.) This is competent, more playful than evocative, but didn't grab me.