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Monstreffic

Peter Füssy, Gabriela Araújo
It’s Friday. Rush hour. The city roars with honking, smoke, and frustration— the perfect environment for a curious species that feeds on cars! With vibrant language and playful science, this book invites young readers to look at cities (and their own streets) in a whole new way.

Author(s)

Peter Füssy

MA in Media Studies, multimedia journalist, researcher, migrant, and mobility activist. He once tested supercars for a living. Then he moved to Amsterdam, discovered walkable cities, and never looked back. Today advocates for streets made for people, not engines, and creates books that help kids imagine better cities.

Gabriela Araújo

An illustrator from Porto, her work is a mix of what she feels like creating and what she believes needs to be talked about. She’s a mother, has two orange cats, is a big fan of bicycles, and—at the end of the day—believes the key to happiness lies in a good joke. Especially if the joke’s on ourselves.

What

moves

Selo Destaques 2025 e semifinalista do prêmio AEILIJ (Associação de Escritores e Ilustradores de Literatura Infantil e Juvenil)

Who’s afraid of Monstreffic?

It terrorizes cities all over the world, impacting productivity, the environment, and everyone’s quality of life.

It’s a complex monster, hard to outsmart. How do we act when we become its prey?

Can we escape this terrible creature?

What

readers say?

  • It cleverly and playfully exposes the monstrous reality we've created with too many cars on our streets, making it clear that you are the traffic. At the same time, it reveals walking as a breath of fresh air—a simple and powerful way to see the same place with new eyes.

    Leticia Sabino, founder and coordinator of The Walkability Institute

  • How can we explain the downsides of car-dependency to children? Peter Füssy and Gabriela Araújo do it brilliantly, using humor and beautiful illustrations to introduce the idea of active mobility—while taking a strong step toward showing the joys of walking through the city.

    Giovana Madalosso, novelist and screenwriter

  • A powerful yet accessible book that opens up space to imagine more humane, safe, and playful cities. Essential reading for shaping new citizens… because it is urgent to change the state of things.

    Mário Alves, Secretary-General at the International Federation of Pedestrians (IFP)

  • Traffic is truly a monster these days. But we are the traffic! And what happens if we choose to leave this infernal creature behind and go on foot, by bicycle, or by public transport?

    Rute Nieto Ferreira, architect, urban planner, and Senior Project Manager at the Gehl Studio

  • We hardly notice it, yet mobility shapes every part of our daily lives — and our children’s futures. The way we move influences health, safety, independence, and opportunity. With Monstreffic, Peter Füssy invites you to discover how things could be different, why change matters, and how we can open a brighter path for the next generations.

    Marco te Brömmelstroet, the "Cycling Professor", author of "Movement: how to take back our streets and transform our lives"

Provocations

reading

Intervenções artísticas e criativas

As sugestões apresentadas estimulam:

  • pensamento crítico sobre o espaço público
  • consciência ambiental e urbana
  • percepção sensorial do ambiente
  • cidadania ativa

Para crianças curiosas, caminhantes aventureiros e caçadores de monstros urbanos!

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