Jerry’s Window

Ten-year-old Jerry Ronden is a walking nightmare who can make grown men cry. He sets off firecrackers in his parents bed, deploys stink bombs in his own house, and soaps the aisle of the school bus. But his mischief making days are numbered. He discovers a window beneath his mums washing line. Eyes glitter behind the window, and a voice calls to Jerry. He doesnt have to wonder long who could be speaking to him.

After a day full of his antics at school, the monsters climb out of the window and try to kidnap Jerry and drag him underground. Terrified, Jerry screams he will be good forever. The monsters run away, unable to stand being around a good child. Jerry now knows the monsters only come after children who behave like monsters themselves.

They kidnap misbehaving kids and pull them underground, locking them in cages and feeding them until they decide the little troublemakers are ready to be eaten. This doesnt sound like a bright future to Jerry, so he tries very hard to improve his behavior. Eventually, he just cant do it anymore. In a relapse, he steals a lollipop.

As the monsters drag a struggling Jerry to the window in the ground, he knows its all over – he doesnt deserve to be saved, and his parents probably dont love him anyway. But Mr and Mrs Ronden explode out of the family home, armed with an encyclopaedia and a rolling pin, ready to beat the monsters into submission. When Mrs Ronden smashes the window, the monsters cant survive.

They collapse into dust, and Jerry is saved. Jerry tells his parents hes sorry for his awful behavior, and they tell him they feel like theyve been given a second chance too – a chance to love Jerry better.