GODZILLA STOMP! picture book crashes fairy tales

Sorry, Cinderella — the Royal Ball just got a lot more interesting. Toho International and Penguin Young Readers have unleashed Godzilla Stomp!, a new hardcover picture book that drops the King of the Monsters into a very polite storybook village. It's on sale today, October 13, 2026.

Written by Katherine Locke and illustrated by Emmy-winning artist Nikolas Ilic, the book is aimed at readers ages 4–8. The setup: it's a picturesque day on a fairy-tale island. The Gingerbread Man is off to visit the Muffin Man, Little Red Riding Hood is heading to her grandmother's, and Cinderella is getting ready for the ball. Everything's going perfectly — until Godzilla arrives.

Penguin pitches it as the ideal Godzilla starter kit "for anyone who loves a bit of chaos in their fairy tales," and compares it to irreverent picture-book favorites Don't Trust Fish and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Kirkus Reviews seems on board, praising its "comedic appetite for destruction" and "giggles galore."

Locke (they/them) is an award-winning author for all ages whose credits span the picture books What Are Your Words?: A Book About Pronouns, Bedtime for Superheroes, and Being Friends with Dragons; the middle-grade titles This Is Our Rainbow, Gender Rebels, and Athlete Is Agender; and the YA books This Rebel Heart, Loki: Journey into Mystery, and the Balloonmakers duology.

Ilic, a Toronto native now based in Los Angeles, works in both animation and children's books, with past collaborations at HarperCollins, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Little Tiger, and Happy Yak.

The release lands as Toho keeps pushing Godzilla's 70-year legacy across licensing categories — toys, gaming, apparel, publishing, and beyond — with 30 live-action films behind the franchise and more content on the way.

Godzilla Stomp! is available now wherever books are sold.

Source: Toho International PR